Purgatory
by Wolfnight2012
Summary: Spur of the moment fanfic... what might have happened in Purgatory. Slight spoilers [I know very little] At most it will have 3 spoilers [I won't tel you which ones] If the rest happenes to be true... then it must mean I'm psychic... or its a coincidence... either one...
1. The Escape

***Disclaimer* I do not own Supernatural (nor do I claim to), I just love it and happen to get alot of ideas for stories in my head.**

**(Anyways, this idea just came to me... I knew that I'd _never_ write it after I saw the first episode of Supernatural {the whole 'why didn't I think of that/ that makes more sense' syndrome} I was bored and decided to start this. Got the prologue done pretty quickly, so I decided to upload it.)**

**Prologue**

"Dean!" Castiel's powerful voice rang out over the noise. His blue eyes blazed with anger, and, for the moment, clarity, as the duo struggled to hold back the swarm of vile creatures that inhabited Purgatory. Castiel spread his wings, knowing well the evil creatures could see them and, because of the darkness inside themselves, tended to shy away from the blazing light, blazing _goodness_, that radiate off them. It didn't work this time, however, as the creatures had purpose, and their wickedness found strength in numbers. They no longer feared his light, his grace's pureness. "Close your eyes!" Castiel commanded, letting loose a flash of brilliant light the second Dean shield his face. He could feel the effort wipe him out, but he didn't care. He had to keep Dean safe, Dean had to make it out, Dean _had _to live. Castiel would never be able to find forgiveness for what he'd done, but it didn't mean he couldn't still _try_ to find redemption. Getting Dean out of Purgatory was the only way Castiel could say _I'm sorry_…. words weren't enough.

"Come on, let's go! The door won't remain open for long!" Benny's irritated, and slightly frightened, voice reached their ears. Benny knew very well they couldn't fight such a mob, and that once the creatures of Purgatory got their fangs or claws into them, they'd be done for, ripped to shreds. It wasn't a pleasant way to die. It made sense that the vampire was frightened. "Hold on!" Dean growled, moving his axe onto his left hand and reaching out to Castiel with his right. "Whoa, hey, Cas, are you okay man?" he said, as if he could sense the angel was unsteady, as if he could see how much the battle was taking out of him. "I'm fine" Castiel said, his eyes hard. "Go!" he added, giving Dean a shove in Benny's direction. The air was filled with howls, growls, snarls and shrieks. The monsters were all very vocal tonight, or perhaps it was day. It was impossible to tell in Purgatory. Four hellhounds rushed forward, Castiel extended his wing and swat the demonic hounds away. They let out a pained whimper, the pureness of his grace burned as it came in contact with their twisted, black souls.

"Come. ON!" Benny snarled. Dean flashed him a hate filled look, and it wasn't so much because the vampire was impatient [that could be understood] as it was because it went against every instinct to work with a monster. Castiel watched his friend for a moment, the majority of his senses still stretched out, feeling outward. He kept his wings up and extended, hoping a few of the creatures still feared the light, he knew it burned them.

Castiel was in the fight of his life. No, not the one he, Dean, and Benny were smack in the middle of right then, but one inside his head. He could feel himself slipping. His mind was unstable. A shattered mess really. He'd taken all of Sam's pain, his wounds, his broken mind, into himself. He had been unable to heal him, and he'd been unable to repair the wall, as nothing but dust remained of it. He couldn't allow Sam to remain as he was, so he'd taken his broken mind, all the wounds of his soul, which felt as if it had been skinned by Lucifer himself [which it had] onto himself. The result was receiving the same broken mind, the same scars, on himself. He hadn't known it was possible, but Sam had been so broken, that that full weight of his wounds had broken Castiel was well. He'd gone insane. He _was _insane….and he was finding it very hard to remain focused on the task at hand. It was hard to get all the billions of pieces of his shattered mind [angels' minds were far more complex than humens'] to focus on any one thing. He couldn't put them together again; each piece tended to focus on whatever it gave importance to at the time. The full extent of his capabilities was so massive; all the pieces were able to think of something at the same time. He was trying so very hard to give this priority…. He had to get Dean out _now_, before he lost himself again. He'd already disappeared on Dean before; he was unable to help it.

"Cas!" Dean shouted, though Castiel had already felt the Wendigo's approach. Castiel smacked its body with his wing. Dean was busy hacking away at the line of creatures with his axe. None could be allowed to escape. Castiel knew Dean wouldn't cross the door to Purgatory until he was sure none of the 'citizens' would be able to follow him. He also knew Benny wouldn't open the door until Dean was at his side, the door only stayed open for a short amount of time.

This was taking too long. Most of the souls were staying back because of Castiel. He was stretching his grace as far as it would go; its essence acting like a force field. Still, the creatures kept advancing, slower, cautious, but they still advanced. Though tired from the strain of trying to keep his shattered mind together, and from the fighting, and from holding his wings up like a warning, Castiel lifted up his palm once more. "Shield your eyes!" he cried, before letting forth another blast of light. He could hear the pained shrieks of the creatures as the light burned them, burned though them, and left nothing but an empty shell. Purgatory was made up of monsters, evil creatures, souls which didn't belong in Heaven or Hell. There was nothing but darkness, evil, inside them. When Castiel's light seared away the darkness, nothing was left. Castiel's arm dropped to his side; he staggered a bit, wiped out after blasting at the relentless creatures twice. His already unsteady hold on his sanity [or the closest he came to it these days] collapsed. His already spread wings flapped, and he disappeared.

"Cas? Cas!" Dean cried in panic. Of course Castiel could still hear him; Castiel would hear that voice anywhere, he'd recognize it anywhere. At this moment, however, he was more interested in the malevolent presence he sensed. Dean's voice registered, then was pushed back. Castiel recognized this presence; it stood out amongst the rest. Castiel tilted his head. He'd landed nowhere, or rather, nowhere important. His unstable mind had most likely not even given a thought to where it commanded his wings to take him. He stared off in the distance and slowly unfurled his wings. He was going to take a closer look at the creature that he recognized personally. "Cas? Cas!" Dean's desperate voice reached him yet again, just as Castiel flapped his wings. A small part of his mind knew who he'd recognized; the rest of it was too fractured to care. Castiel was heading toward Dick Roman.


	2. In The Begining

*******Disclaimer* I do not own Supernatural (nor do I claim to), I just love it and happen to get alot of ideas for stories in my head.**

**Chapter One**

Castiel sat on the ground; he didn't care enough to stand. He did not like it here. It was dark here, it was cold, it was empty. There was no light… no warmth… none. No matter how much he stretched out his power, his grace, he always came up empty…. Because that was what this place was, right? Void of anything good, there was no sun, no growth, no spring, no bees… just corrupt souls, demons and monsters. Their souls were nothing like human souls, human souls were bright, clean, pure energy… These souls were more like black holes….and they were everywhere, Castiel could feel them EVERYWHERE. He did not like it here…

Castiel did not look up as Dean came over, he already knew it was Dean… why look up to confirm it? Dean…. Dean was the one good thing left in the world, he was the only human soul in Purgatory, the only source of warmth, the only thing that didn't make his grace crawl as if with goose bumps, in _all _of Purgatory… and Purgatory was Castiel's entire world. No matter how far he flew, he never escaped… it stood to reason that Purgatory was all that was left, escape wasn't even a hope. Since Purgatory was the entire world, it [also] stood to reason that Dean was the one sole good thing in the world. It was why Castiel stayed as close to him as possible, as much as possible, as if he needed constant reassurance that there was still light, that there was still good.

Dean came to a stop just behind Castiel, his bloody axe held up at ready in his hand. Monsters were everywhere, and they attacked at any time, Dean had long ago learned to not let his guard down, he was always ready, and always armed. He didn't say a word, just stood by the broken angel, as if he too needed reassurance, as if Castiel was his one tie to humanity, the one thing that kept him from becoming one of _them_. He was a savage, he showed no mercy and nothing that attacked them lived, if it realized they were not an easy kill and tried to run Dean would chase it down and hack it to pieces. There was something wild and frightening in his eyes, but it dulled down a bit when he was near Castiel. The angel, though insane, was no fool however; he knew very well Dan had changed, and that the changes were more than skin-deep.

_Castiel slammed into the ground with a thud, his cheek scrapping against the dead leaves, his chest pressing onto the ground with the force of the explosion. He lay there for a while, frozen, as his sensed picked up all the evil, it made his grace want to retch, it was everywhere. It reminded him of Hell, except there was no trace of a fallen archangel anywhere here, just corrupt souls, ravenous souls, he could feel their need to tear, their want for flesh, not to eat, the dead didn't eat… just to feel the blood run through their fangs as their prey died, after all it wasn't the same when they were simply preying on other souls in Purgatory. They missed the feeling of it, of biting down, claws and fangs sinking into soft flesh… and they had been alerted of their presence. He stood up then, overcoming the crushing awareness of the souls of Purgatory to sense Dean's soul, his uncorrupt _human_ soul, lying unconscious on his back a couple of feet away from him. The explosion had been harder on the human, Castiel supposed. He waited, standing statue still, until Dean awakened. Except….. Dean didn't wake up…. He could feel himself slipping, and panic arose… "Wake up" he boomed, power behind his voice, unfurling his wings. Dean slowly sat up, a confused look on his face. Castiel paid him no heed, he scoped the surroundings, his wings beginning to beat a without his full consent. "Good" he said, as Dean straightened up. He finally looked at him, though his instincts screamed at him to not ignore his surroundings, even though his angelic senses could sense a threat without help of his eyes. "We need to get out of here" he told Dean, looking him straight in the eye, trying to convey urgency at the same time as his mind began to wander. "Where are we?" Dean asked, looking around a bit, his face still wore a confused expression. "You don't know?" Castiel asked, the majority of his attention coming back to Dean. "Last I remember, we ganked Dick" Dean said, it was obvious he was trying to figure out what was apparent to everyone else… in this case, what was apparent to Castiel. Castiel felt an urge to remind Dean he wasn't stupid, or slow, but instead answered with another question "And where would he go in death?" trying to help Dean react the conclusion on his own. It was plainly written on Dean face the instant realization hit him, "Wait are you telling me-" he began, when Castiel interrupted "Every soul here is a monster" he said. What did that say about him? The voice, the one voice in Castiel mind that still sounded like his former self, his sane self, seemed to be implying Castiel was also a monster, hadn't he killed two of his own brothers, sucked in all the souls from Purgatory, gone on a killing rampage, and unleashed the Leviathans on earth? Didn't he belong here as well? The millions of shatters pieces of Castiel's mind quickly washed over that one particular voice. "This is where they come to prey on each other for all eternity" Castiel finished, as Dean began to look increasingly frightened. "We're in Purgatory?" Dean asked, incredulous, though Castiel knew the information had sunk in and that there was no doubt in the hunter's mind of their current location. "How do we get out?" Dean asked. Castiel could feel the slightly hope radiate from his soul, as if there was a slight chance Castiel might be able to spread his wings and flew them both back to earth. It pained Castiel that he had failed Dean yet again, as there was no possible way for him to take Dean home. "I'm afraid we are much more likely to be ripped to shreds" Castiel answered truthfully, quickly. His wings began to beat again, slowly, as if the order to do so only came from a fraction of his mind. Dean looked at Castiel with fear in his eyes, the tiny speck of hope crusted. He turned around to survey their surroundings… that's when Castiel's wings took him away. His mind wandered for an instant, and he found himself standing in a small puddle of mud, wings still spread out, eyes closed, grace searching… for what, he did not know, but it was stretching outward. He stood like that for a while, simply searching. The only conclusion he came to, was that there was nothing to search for. All he found was the same twisted souls, monsters of different shapes and species, nothing more, except for the small speck of pure energy, at this very moment frightened and confused. Castiel opened his eyes, he did not know how far he'd flown, but he could still sense Dean, even at this distance. "Cas?..." Castiel felt more than heard Dean's cry for help, as his friend was calling out in more ways than one. Castiel could sense his pulsing soul, it searched in its own way, a way much more simple than his own, it was completely subconscious._

_Dean glanced around, trying to take in all of his surrounding at once, his entire body tensed, and he crouched in a fighting stance- ready to flee or fight at a moment's notice. His hands groped slightly at the air as his eyes looked for a weapon in the ground, which was bare except for dead leaves and twigs. He heard more low growls, sounds of anticipation…. His eyes flashed to the left, were a large four legged creature was stalking out from the shadows. He backed up a bit knowing very well he did not have the upper hand, nor a way to fight back. His breathing quickened as the creature took another step forward, his dirty claws digging into the dirt, its red eyes ravenous… it was going to tear Dean part. Its lips pulled up to reveal broken fangs, they must have been long and sharp, back when it was alive, and it snarled with impatience. Dean couldn't even manage a glare; his eyes were wide and refused to narrow. He wondered if this would feel the same as when the hellhounds had dragged him to Hell, tearing into him and shredding his chest. He closed his eyes, knowing he couldn't fight and refusing to prolong such a painful death. The hesitation and muffed shriek caused him to reopen his eyes; Castiel stood in front of him, blocking the soul's path, his shoulders were tense, his posture straight and determined. For a moment, he looked just like the righteous Cas, the smite-y Cas, Dean's best friend. The creature's eyes were wide, fangs bared in fear, posture stiff, eyes wide and bright. It took Dean a moment to realize it wasn't a refection from the moon that shone in the creature's eyes. It was a burning white light; it reminded Dean of when he'd killed Zachariah. The creature's mouth was open wide, as if in a scream, Dean noticed its fangs weren't bared; they were simply exposed because of the creature's grimace. This lasted only a second more, before Castiel, nearly unnoticeably, twitched and the creature's eyes burned out in a flash of brilliant light, much as Pamela's had. It fell to the ground in a smoking heap and Castiel relaxed. Before Dean could even open his mouth to speak Castiel was at his side, "We have to get out of here" he said, grabbing his shoulder and taking flight. _

Castiel was useless, it might be more specific to say 'nearly useless' but in reality, it was all the same. Castiel didn't fight, he didn't like to fight, he didn't want to fight… it reminded him to much of what he'd done… ALL of what'd he'd done. He'd killed so many of his brothers and sisters, he'd rebelled against Heaven, lost faith in his Father, he'd worked with a demon, he'd broken Sam's wall, he'd opened the door to Purgatory, he'd called himself God, he'd killed so many people, he'd let Leviathan's loose into the world… He didn't want to kill anymore; he didn't want to cause pain or suffering anymore. Dean wanted him to fight; Dean believed he needed his help. Castiel hated to fail him, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. At times his insanity was so peaceful, there were _so many _different pieces of him, it was hard to feel guilty, to feel angry, anxiety, to feel anything but blissful and ignorant….but when he fought, when he fought all his memories of the blood on his hands slammed into him. Castiel couldn't take it; it was too much for any one piece of him… He imagined this must be what human children felt like, too young to understand, too young to cope…

Dean finally spoke; he only spoke when it was necessary anyways, "We have to go" he said, his voice gruff. Castiel looked up at him, he didn't ask 'Where' as he knew there wasn't a destination in mind, it was _all _Purgatory, it was _all _the same. Dean simply didn't like staying in one spot because the souls of Purgatory tended to smell blood, whether theirs or that from whatever creature Dean had most recently chopped up. They'd gather, they'd come in large numbers, and they'd get swarmed. It was better to move before they came looking, the creatures of Purgatory didn't tend to track. Castiel stood up slowly and nodded, though Dean had already turned around. He picked up the few other weapons he'd managed to put together and began walking. Castiel followed without a word.


	3. Encounter

***********Disclaimer* I do not own Supernatural (nor do I claim to), I just love it and happen to get alot of ideas for stories in my head.**

**Chapter Two**

It was just a routine 'stroll', nothing more. Dean checked the perimeter of his and Cas' 'camp' before settling down, after an encounter with a monster, and before leaving in search of a new 'camp'. He didn't believe he was being paranoid, or exaggerating. He'd been here long enough to know there was literally no such thing as _too_ careful. He'd been jumped before, Cas had gotten attacked before, they'd once been surrounded by a group of five creatures, Cas had pulled [flown] them out of that one… all of Dean weapons, except the axe he held in his hand, had been left behind.

As soon as they arrived at a new 'resting spot' Dean would scout the surrounding area, make sure it was clear and if it wasn't, then he'd slaughter whatever he found, even if the creature hadn't spotted him yet. He would then return to where he had left Cas. Sometimes the angel was gone, but the majority of the time the angel was always in the same position he'd left him [staring off into space, completely still] or sitting on the ground, knees pressed to his chest… still staring into space, still completely motionless. He never asked him what he was thinking, or what he was looking at, he'd simply settle down beside him, _never_ in a vulnerable position, and work on his most recent weapon, or simply keep a look out. He and Cas rarely talked, but he still felt more comfortable when he was near the angel, it brought him a bit of peace. Cas was the only family he had left, and no matter what happened, no matter how affected, no matter what he became, family would always come first for Dean. It was his comfort, he _needed _ his family, perhaps more than he'd like to admit, perhaps more than they needed him… he'd often shoot Cas a glance, but the angel rarely looked back, he was too absorbed in his thoughts, or lack of…

Relying on his mental timer, an instinct created along with this routine, Dean would get up, grab his axe and check the surrounding area again. Cas rarely looked up as he left, his eyes showed no awareness of the world around him, he'd become completely lost in himself. Dean would be quick, but thorough, keen on getting back to Cas quickly. Once he made sure everything was secure, he'd return to their 'camp' and they would stay there a while more.

Dean would give the place one last quick look, to make sure they weren't followed, and then he would alert Cas it was time to go. He tried to pretend he didn't see Cas' obvious struggle to focus on him, to pull out of his 'trance'. He tried not take notice how it seemed to take Cas more and more time, more and more effort, for awareness to return to his eyes, for that blank stare to leave his face. Something deep inside Dean warned him he was about to lose his friend, and told him to prepare. It was quickly beaten to a bloody pulp and stuffed in a closet, Dean refused to even think it. He wouldn't let anything bad happen to Cas. As long as he was here, the confused little angel would be safe. Cas was more like a child now than ever before, he _needed_ Dean, and Dean needed to be needed, the current situation was like a twisted version of his and Sam's childhood, and Dean somehow managed to take comfort from it. It didn't matter than Cas was broken, or that he was insane, Dean would not let anything happen to him… or so he insisted to himself.

Having gotten whatever Dean's instincts assured was the right distance between them and their last 'camp' Dean stopped and set his things down. Cas sank to the ground, Dean hoped that was a sign the angel wasn't going anywhere soon… he always panicked whenever he returned from scoping the perimeter to find Cas gone. Swallowing his dread, Dean always called Cas back the instant he noticed the camp was empty, the older brother in him surfacing and allowing his voice to take on an authoritative 'older' tone, much like the one he used on Sam. The angel didn't always come back immediately however. Dean always scolded him when he didn't return quickly, sounding, again, so much as he did with Sam. Dean had noted that Cas usually stayed if he sat down, which was why Dean had hopes that he'd find him here when he returned. Not keen on taking chances though, Dean would be as quick as possible; he did not like to leave Cas alone for long periods of time. You simply did not do that with a child… the older brother in him knew that by heart, it had been drilled into him by his father since he was four.

Everything seemed good; there were few fresh tracks around, which meant not many creatures had been here recently. He did not come across any monsters and decided it was time to start heading back. He glanced around him once more, then turned around and began to walk back, not in a straight line of course. He walked around, zigzagging, always scanning his surroundings, always alert. Not alert enough, apparently, as he was tackled.

Dean landed on the ground, on his back. He could feel something digging its fingers into his shoulder, but he didn't panic, he didn't struggle, he simply repositioned his grip on his axe and swung it. The creature shrieked and fell back… Dean had cut deep into its arm, he could see bone. Dean quickly sat up, or tried to anyways. The creature flung itself at him again, this time causing Dean to lose his axe as its weight forced him to the ground. Dean kicked at it, it didn't bother him that it looked mostly like a dirty, scrawny human, most monsters looked human… but nothing in Purgatory ever was. It dug its fingers into his arm, refusing to let go, Dean couldn't shake it off. Dean grunted, kicking it in the face. The bushes rustled, all plant 'life' was practically dead and dried up, the thin leafless branches easily alerted of the newcomer's arrival. Dean turned his head to spot a second creature stalking forward. With his left hand he held the chomping creature clinging to his arm at bay, ans with his right he reached pointlessly for his axe, it was just a finger length away…

The second creature launched itself at Dean; his hand flashed forward and grabbed its throat tightly. This might have been a comic sight, if it wasn't so frightening and desperate. Dean was straining under the pressure of holding two creatures off his throat. Both were using all of their weight as they pushed against his arms, jaws snapping. Dean's arms trembled; he wouldn't be able to hold them both back for long. He had 'locked' his arms into place, holding them straight out, he knew that if they bent, however slightly, it would all be over. The pressure, however, was nearly excruciating….it felt like his forearm was about to snap! Or like his shoulder would dislocate at any second. Dean grunted, clamping his teeth together. He had no idea how much longer he could hold this, but it did not matter anyhow… he was only prolonging the inevitable. He had to get to his axe…. He glanced around himself, trying to see if they was a way he could shake one of the creatures off, unbalance it...

'They must be ghouls' the thought popped into Dean's head as he noticed a third member join the party. It shuffled forward, took in the sight of the two other creatures fighting to get to Dean's throat, and Dean's obvious lack of control over the situation, and it licked its teeth. Dean was already panting with exertion, he refused to let it get out of control, his muscles were already trembling, he'd be dead in mere seconds if he became out of breath. The creature [most likely a ghoul] came forward, rather quickly, and bent forward, reaching toward Dean. Dean kicked it hard in the jaw, and then kicked out again for good measure. The creature stumbled back. It was hardly a victory, however, the movement caused Dean's concentration to drift ever so slightly and his left elbow bent. The snarling ghoul lunged at the softer skin under his chin and on his throat. In his shock, Dean 'allowed' his other elbow to slacken as well, which meant two ghouls crashed over his head. The third had already recovered from the blow, and was on its feet again.

Dean closed his eyes, ready to accept his fate. He'd gotten careless, and now he would pay the price… with his life. That was how things worked here; you either killed, or got killed. He took in a deep breath just as he felt a hand tighten around his neck, nails digging into the skin. He opened his eyes and stared the creature, the ghoul, straight in the eye, no fear in his own. Its eyes were ravenous, insane, and blood-thirsty. They held no evidence that a sentient being hid behind them. It was only Creature, it was Monster, it had no name, no feelings, it wasn't even remotely human, and Dean no longer thought of them as different species. What was the difference between a vampire and a werewolf? Nothing. Dean had to kill both, and both were out to kill him. They were all Creature, they were all Monster… monsters…That was what things became in Purgatory. Dean pulled his lips up in an ugly snarl, baring his teeth. He made no noise as the second creature bit into his shoulder, and the third grabbed his leg, looking for the best place to grab its share from. Dean kicked at it, but it had an iron grip and knew Dean was powerless.

The second creature shrieked, arching its back in pain, letting go of Dean. His right arm free, he punched the first creature in the face with as much momentum as he could gather, then he kicked out with his foot at the third creature, struggling to sit up. 'I have to get my axe' he thought, eyes scanning the area for his weapon of choice. Spotting it, he made a dash for it, tucking and rolling, grabbing it in his hand, then leaping to his feet, all in one graceful move. His eyes surveyed his situation, his best options, at the same time as he swung his axe, nearly severing the third creature's shoulder, and giving the first creature a large gash on the ribs as a souvenir. He hoped the axe had dug deep enough to scratch at the bone. The third creature grabbed at its shoulder, glaring at Dean. Dean smiled a wicked smile, swinging his axe around with expertize. Both creatures lunged at him at the same time, as he knew they would. He swung his axe, severing an arm off one, and cutting deeply into the leg of the other. It fell to its knee, now lame. Dean walked around it and swung his axe at the one-armed one. It sliced into its leg and, keeping the same momentum, Dean curved it up as sliced up its torso. His eyes were merciless as it fell to the ground. Dean then stood over it and chopped off its head. He then moved to the other once, who was attempting to crawl away. He sliced into is back, a deep gash, just to get it to slow down. He kicked it to the ground and chopped off its head as well. His narrowed eyes glared at the body beneath him, the corners of his teeth showed as his lips curled up in a wicked smile. Then he swung his axe at the creature that stood over the second creature, which also lay dismembered.

"Whoa, hey, take it easy!" it yelped, jumping back, just out of reach of Dean's axe. Dean narrowed his eyes and swung again, this time getting the creature up against a tree trunk. "That's how you greet your knight in shining armor?" it said. Dean blinked at it, his axe held at ready, but he didn't strike. Not because of what the creature had said, but because he had _said _it. Purgatory citizens did not talk… they snarled and growled while in a frenzy, ravenous sounds tore out of their throats as they attacked…. But they never said _words_…

"What are you?" Dean demanded to know, not backing up, not releasing the creature from what looked like an uncomfortable position, pressed against the bark as it was. His axe was still held up, ready. "Names Benny" the things began, before Dean pressed the 'blade' of his axe against its throat. "I didn't ask _who_" Dean growled, though clenched teeth, "I asked _what_." 'You things aren't '_who_s', you are all _what_s' he thought. His 'blade' did not draw blood, but it did touch the thing's skin. "I'm the one who just saved your life" it said, sounding like it was starting to get annoyed. Dean applied pressure to his axe, nearly enough to draw blood. "I'm a vampire, it's that's the answer you're gunning for" it added after a [small] while. Dean thought about this for a moment, before relieving the pressure of his axe. 'Thank you' it mouthed sarcastically, rubbing his throat where the axe had touched his skin. Dean tensed up as soon as its arm twitched, preparing for it to try and strike him. It laughed, "Dude, chill. Not everything is out to chew on your bones" it said. Dean's glare intensified, "My experience tells differently" he said, before taking a step back, then another. He had to get back to Cas.

"Hey wait!" the thing called, once it became evident Dean wasn't giving it space, he was leaving. Dean flashed it another hate filled look, causing it to stop in its tracks. "I gave you my name, don't I get yours?" it asked. Dean didn't even bother giving that question an answer. He heard a sigh, and slowed down, but didn't turn around. "You gunna be like that? Okay, fine." It said. "You at least owe me thanks for the whole 'saving your life' thing-" it barely managed to finish it's sentence before Dean had shoved him into the tree trunk once more, axe pressed against its throat. "Get this, one thing, straight" Dean hissed in its face. "You've gotten your 'thank you' in the form of me _not-killing-you_" he emphasized the last words. He smiled inwardly as the creature swallowed. "It's not something I will give twice, if I ever see you again, you won't be given the curtsey of a warning before I slice your neck off your shoulders" his sentence ended with a growl. He saw its eyes widen as the true meaning of his words dawned on it. Dean was telling it to watch its back, Dean was warning it that if Dean ever spotted it again he would go for the kill, not caring if the thing ever saw him coming, or even knew he was around. "Consider this, your one and only warning, a token of my… appreciation" he said, before pulling back and letting his axe fall to his side. He backed up, eyes never leaving the creature then, when he was a good distance away; he turned around to walk away. "I can get you out you know" the thing said, oh so casually.

Dean didn't react at all, he just kept walking. "I mean it" the thing continued. "I could get us both out, quite simply really." Dean kept walking. "I would just need a little time, and a few ingredients… but the timing is right." It. Just. Kept. Talking. "I mean it" it repeated, its voice nearly sounding taunting. "Don't you want to get out? Or do you want to spend the remainder of your short life chopping up Purgatory's inhabitants, until the day they rip you to shreds first?" Dean kept walking, for a short moment he wished he had his gun. It would be very usually at this distance, allowing him to put a few holes in the creature's face, to shut it up. "Come on" Dean heard it say, he thought he could also hear it walking slowly after him. He shifted his grip on his axe, preparing for a fight. "Don't you have anyone waiting for you on the other side? Didn't you leave a life behind? Aren't you missed? Don't you miss? Them, a 'her' perhaps… or a 'him'. Don't you having anyone depending on you?" Dean's knuckles were turning white from his steel grip on the axe, he glared lasers at the ground, until the creature uttered its last sentence…then Dean stopped cold. He frozen in place, shoulders tensing, he was glad, if only for a second, that his back was to the creature, so it couldn't see his face, and all the emotions that ran across it at that second.

Cas. Cas depended on Dean. Cas was messed up, he was not only insane…his mind was literally broken, shattered into millions of pieces, and now the most those pieces could muster up was the mind of a child… 4-9, depending on whether Cas was having a good day or not. He hated violence, and Dean knew he refused to harm anything. He was scared; angels didn't belong in Purgatory…. Dean would never be able to comprehend all the horrors the little angel felt, surrounded by all the evil, being to sense it everywhere, and in everything. Cas _needed _Dean… he was Dean's _responsibility_… It was Dean's job to look out for him… If he could get him out…

The creature had stopped as Dean did; knowing Dean's stopping had been directly linked to what it had said. After a few moments, as if sensing victory, it began to walk over. Dean tightened his grip on his axe. When it got close enough he whirled around, lifting his axe to neck level. "What did I saw about _ever_ seeing you again?" he growled. It took a step back, the expression of its face looked as if Dean had backed out of a deal after having sighed half of his name on the dotted line. He narrowed his eyes, causing it to back up some more. "Don't let me see you again" he said, meaning every word. 'Watch your back' he thought out to it, before disappearing into the 'vegetation' hurrying back to camp… back to Cas.

"Come on, we're leaving" Dean said, rushing into the camp. Thankfully, Cas was still there, still in the same position. Dean hurried over, grabbing onto Cas's arm gently, to shake the angel out of his trance. Cas looked up at him, looked him up and down, then calmly looked behind him, before speaking. "It's too early" he said "Are you sure you don't mean you have to rest, then we have to go?" he asked. Ahh, so Cas paid attention to his routine? That made Dean feel better, it helped him believe Cas wasn't as far gone as he appeared to be, that Dean wasn't about to lose him… _again_. "Nope, I mean we're leaving. Right now" Dean said, grabbing onto the angel's forearm and hauling him up. "You're not going to scan the place out before we leave?" Cas asked, staring at Dean's face with those big, wide eyes of his, getting all in Dean's personal space. Dean pushed him away gently, as you would a child who didn't know any better. "Come on, the sooner we get a move on, the better" Dean said. He wondered how much Cas could sense… Could he sense his indecision? His anxiety? Dean turned to grab his other weapons, but Cas help him back, clinging to his arm. "You're hurt" he said, already reaching up with two fingers. "Oh no, Cas it's okay… you don't have to-" Dean didn't get to finish that sentence, as Cas pressed his index and middle finger to his forehead anyways. Instantly the bruises, blood, bites, claw marks and soreness were all gone. "Cas, I've told you not to do that" Dean said. He didn't like Cas wasting his angel mojo, especially not on him. They were disconnected from Heaven and Earth in Purgatory… what if Cas ran out of juice? What would become of the little angel then? Dean hated himself for being unable to do more for his friend.

Dean placed his hand on Cas' shoulder, gently guiding him away from camp. He let go once he made sure the angel was walking in the same direction on his own, though he still stayed very close to his friend. His presence gave him comfort, much like he'd peek into Sam's room at night, just to make sure his little brother was safe. It was like one of those stupid 'gut-feelings' took over… the one that said 'As long as he is with me, nothing bad will ever happen to him.'

"What are we running from?" Cas asked, glancing at Dean. Dean pressed his lips together in a thin line, unsure of what to say. He didn't want to lie to Cas, it wasn't like he could anyways. The angel had a way of knowing what he was feeling, if not what he was thinking. "It's just that…" he began, gazing at a dried up bush, as if for inspiration. His eyes darted up at the flutter of wings. Cas was gone. "Cas? Cas?!" Dean hissed, cursing at himself slightly [and out loud a bit as well] He looked around, pivoting on his heel more than once. Cas was nowhere to be found.


	4. A Good Deal

***************Disclaimer* I do not own Supernatural (nor do I claim to), I just love it and happen to get alot of ideas for stories in my head.**

**Chapter Three**

Castiel hadn't meant to leave. He really hadn't… Dean had been about to tell him something. He'd known something was wrong. He could feel it. He couldn't read Dean's mind, but he was especially sensitive to his emotions… he _had_, after all, gripped his soul tight and dragged him out of Hell. Then they'd stopped the Apocalypse together, though Castiel gave much more credit to Dean for that. Dean had been the one who never gave up… he'd been the one to believe in stopping Fate in the first place. Now, right now, Castiel could feel anxiety coming off Dean, as well as something else… Was Dean feeling useless? Castiel wanted to say something comforting, but he kept his mouth shut. He knew he hardly ever said something he truly meant to say, instead of some gibberish. Dean needed a friend at this moment, not him… Not this crazy baggage… His wings spread of their own accord, though the last thing Castiel wanted to do at the moment was leave Dean. A few beats and he was somewhere else, leaving Dean alone with his thoughts. Maybe it was better this way…

Castiel looked around him, at where he'd flown off to. He wasn't far; he could tell. He could sense Dean; he was only a few yards away, out of sight and out of range of human ears, but close. Castiel tilted his head as he gazed at the trees, turning around in a full circle. They all looked the same: tall, thin, grey… their bark rough and dried up. Leaves cluttered the ground, covering up the dirt and mud… there was no grass in Purgatory, only dried up leaves, bushes, shrubs, weeds and trees, lots and lots of trees. There was nothing special about this place, there was no reason for Castiel to have flown such a short distance just to get here… not like any Castiel's actions were backed by reason nowadays anyhow…

It took Castiel a while to realize he was still turning around, his eyes unfocused, barely taking in what he was seeing… all of Purgatory looked the same… it all felt the same… he didn't bother with the details. 'Cas? Cas?! Cas I swear… Cas, come back!' Castiel heard Dean calling him, in that parenting voice of his, both in his mind, as he did when Dean prayed for him, and with his human ears, as his vessel's sense of hearing was increased with Castiel inside. He turned his head in the direction of the sound, toward Dean, and tilted his head. He wondered whether to stand here and wait, or walk over to Dean… he was calling him after all, and Castiel always came when Dean called, at least, whenever possible. He spread his wings, not having decided anything, his mind wandering as he sensed hellhounds a couple of miles east. 'I should warn Dean' he thought, just as he was tackled to the ground.

Castiel landed on his shoulder and was quickly pushed onto his back by two pairs of strong hands. He could hear snarling and growling. There were two werewolves on him; his grace could tell exactly which creatures the Purgatory residents were. He gazed up at the two pairs of glowing eyes and sharp teeth. The claws dug into his shoulders. He held them back with his forearms; they snapped their teeth at the air. It didn't seem to occur to them that they could let go of his shoulders and use their hands to shove his arms away, instead of just pushing against his forearms, necks straining to get a bite of his flesh. Castiel was stronger than the monsters, he could hold them back just fine, he could also defeat them if he tried, but he didn't. The only way to get them off would be to hurt them, and he didn't want to do that, he didn't want to hurt anything… the monsters snarled, small droplets of spit landing on Castiel cheek. He turned his head, his back shoved deeper into the ground as both werewolves shoved against his forearms with their entire weight, their claws dug deeper into his shoulders, trying to pull themselves closer. Jimmy's blood began to drench the dirty trench coat; the dark red liquid was barely noticeable with all the mud and dirt that was piled on the fabric. The smell of blood put the werewolves in a frenzy. One of them, a male, sank his fangs into Castiel's arm, giving up on reaching his throat. Blood quickly poured out of the new wound.

Dean could hear growling, and snarling… the sounds were only made when a monster was attacking something, it had either caught itself something to prey on, or was fighting another monster over a weaker creature of Purgatory, weak enough to be considered prey. "Damn it Cas!" Dean hissed, tightening his grip on his axe. There were plenty of creatures in Purgatory, Dean killed one (or more) whenever he got the chance, better said… he killed one every chance he got, sometimes went out of his way to gank it. At least two were close right now, the noise wasn't far away. Dean couldn't let the chance go by. Cas would be able to find him, were ever he went, standing here like an idiot wouldn't make him return any faster.

As Dean crept forward the noise shifted from that of preying, to that of fighting. 'Hmm, maybe something else came along and decided it wanted an easy 'meal'' Dean thought. He could still only make out two distinct vocal sounds, which meant whatever was the 'prey' was dead. He heard a shriek of pain and listened closely. He could now only hear one of the creatures, which likely meant either it had won [and now had two bodies to feast upon] or that the other creature had given up and ran away. Purgatory creatures rarely gave up, however, their drive to maul and shred being much more powerful than their instinct of self-preservation.

The noise was still that of a fight, which confused Dean. He could only hear one 'voice' so what was the monster fighting? It screeched in pain, which eliminated the doubt that it was still fighting. The creatures would be distracted while fighting, Dean knew, he would attack which ever was winning, then go back for the most injured. Should be easy kills, he decided, stepping out of the trees in time to see the monster, the one that talked, slice off the head of a blooded creature, the one that had been screeching. Another dead body lay a foot away, a deep gash leading from its throat, down its chest, to its belly.

Dean's mind assessed the situation, much quicker than people might think.

1. The monster that could talk was back, and now Dean was going to kill him,

2. It had just ganked two other monsters of Purgatory.

3. Cas was lying on the ground, and had fresh blood oozing out of several wounds.

Dean quickly shifted into a fighting stance, shifting his grip on his axe, not out of necessity, simply because it reassured him to feel its sturdy weight in his hand. The monster didn't pay him any heed at first, though Dean knew it had noticed him. It walked over to Cas, causing Dean to tense up, before saying "That's two for two, unless you have others hidden somewhere out there" it said, reaching out with its left hand, the one that didn't hold a weapon, toward Cas. "Get away from him!" Dean snarled, quickly coming between Cas and the monster. It jumped out of the way before he could sever its head. "Again, you're welcome" it said, still holding on to its dignity and not making a move to flee. It reminded Dean of Crowley, which only made him want to slice it into tiny pieces all the more.

"Cas, you okay?" Dean asked his friend, not taking his eyes off what was likely the only talking creature of Purgatory. "Yes Dean" Cas said, slowly standing up. Dean reached back with his right hand and grabbed his arm, helping him up. "Your buddy got jumped by two werewolves" it said. "Not to worry though, they're hardly a match for, well, anything, while in one of their feeding frenzies" it continued, ignoring Dean when he bared his teeth. He did not like thinking of Cas being a part of that feeding frenzy. He kicked himself for not being able to take better care of his friend; the angel's insanity crippled him greatly. It was up to Dean to keep him safe. "You killed those two werewolves" Cas said, looking over Dean's shoulder at the creature. It nodded, "Name's Benny, no need to thank me" he said. Cas nodded, "Benny" he acknowledged the thing, "There was no need for you to harm them, they couldn't kill me" he said. Dean pushed Cas behind him once more, like a grown-up who realized the child did not understand strangers were bad and must not be talked to, just as the creature said, "You sure about that?" it asked. Shifting his weight, as if to block the thing's view of Cas, Dean glared at it, "What do you mean?" he asked.

"I believe you now _owe_ me at _least _a talk" it said, looking Dean in the eye, not answering his question. "My last offer still stands, though I'm having second thoughts now" Dean said through his teeth. It had saved Cas, just so Dean would owe him. Oh, he owed him alright; he owed him an axe to the face. If it was relying on Dean's honor as a hunter, or human being, then it was about to be disappointed. Dean didn't play by the same rules anymore. What was worth more? Honor, or ridden the world, in this case Purgatory, of another of its filthy kind… another monster? He shifted his weight slightly, getting ready to pounce; it would be caught off guard. It would be easy; its head would be rolling in less than 5 seconds. He moved his axe closer to his body, arm tensing, preparing to swing, when he felt a hand gently grasp his shoulder. "Dean, don't you owe him a talk?" Cas asked softly, still hidden behind Dean's own body.

Dean hesitated, for a moment he had forgotten Cas was behind him. Watching him. About to see him decapitate the creature that had just saved his life. 'And mine too' Dean thought, though he quickly shoved that thought away. He found that he didn't want to kill the thing with Cas watching. He didn't want Cas to see the savage he'd become…. Or perhaps it was the savage he'd always been, the unrestraint self that Purgatory had let out. Cas often said Dean was the only good thing left in the world. Like one speak of a beacon of light, as if it was the only thing Cas still believed in, as if it were all that kept him fighting. Kept him here. Dean didn't want to ruin that image of him, even if it was a lie. He feared, sometimes, that is was the only thing that kept Cas going. He had no idea what he would do if Cas let go. He slowly, oh so slowly, let his axe rest against his thigh. He was sure he could feel Cas' small smile as the angel's faith in him was left to comfort another day.

"Five minutes" Dean said, his voice still hostile. It smiled, as if it were one of the most cliché things it had ever heard. Dean wondered how long ago it had died, and if it had enjoyed watching TV, or movies, before it was ganked and sent to Purgatory. It stood lazily in front of him "Well, as I already tried to say, I can get us out of Purgatory" it said. It began to walk around, paying no heed to the decapitated bodies, "There is a spell that can open a door, but I need the ingredients" it said. "Why haven't you gotten out yet then, why do you need my help?" Dean asked. "I've only just come across this spell and I haven't had time to find all the necessary items to work it. Purgatory is huge, if you haven't noticed, I'm having trouble finding them all" it said. "And let me guess, you need me to help you look for them?" Dean said/asked, a sneer on his face. He wasn't buying this. "Four eyes _are_ better than two" it agreed. "Why not get one of your buddies to help you, I'm sure they're all dying to get out into the world, taste _real_ flesh again" he said, baiting. He didn't trust it and sure as Hell didn't want to let it live, much less let it loose back on Earth.

The thing stopped circling Dean, which was good, as it was making Dean feel tense. He watched Dean as if it thought he was slow. "As you have seen, most of those in Purgatory no longer think straight. I can't just waltz up to one and ask for help, they'll try to rip out my throat. They are beyond listening" it said, giving Dean a slow smile. "You've felt it too, haven't you? The urge to let go…. We all do. That's what Purgatory does. It's were monsters come to prey on each other for all eternity. You see, we still have some humanity on earth, we form packs, covens, friendships, we find mates. It's not until we reach Purgatory that we truly become what we were meant to be… _predators_. Animalist, savage… pure. The only thing human about us is that we walk on two legs. So I can't just ask someone for help, they no longer know the meaning of the word… they know longer know emotions" it said. Dean looked at the ground, then back at it. "So why are you still talking, thinking, and analyzing like any ol human?" he asked. It shrugged, "I didn't let go…. I clung to it, because no matter how good it felt to finally be free of the shackles of humanity, I knew my chances of survival were greater if I still had full use of my brain" it said.

"Times running" Dean said, "What's you plan? How do we _escape _Purgatory?" Dean asked, still not believing it for a second. "Simple, we open a door, it can be done from the outside, it can be done from the inside. The door opens both ways, you just need the key" it said. "Which is the spell" Dean finished for him. It nodded, "Yes, we just gather the items required, work the spell, open the door, and hop out" it said, it wore a devious smile. The way he spoke reminded him of tempting demons, trying to get one to sell his soul.

"And why do you need me? You can't really be so impatient that you'd risk working with me, just to cut a few days off you escape" Dean asked, backing up into Cas, pushing him further away from the monster. He hadn't been kidding, once the five minutes were up, Dean would be decapitating him. He wanted Cas out of range of the fight. Since it would think and strategize, it might try to attack Cas, use him as leverage. "I _would _enjoy the extra sets of eyes, as I said before, Purgatory is a large place. A lot of ground to cover. And I would like the assistance, some of these parts can get mighty dangerous" it said. Dean blinked, not sure if he had understood right. "You want me to be your bodyguard?" he growled, narrowing his eyes. "No, we'd watch _each other's _backs. What part of working together do you not understand?" it asked, once again in a voice that implied Dean was slow. "No thanks" Dean said, pushing Cas even farther away with his arm.

"I will still get out without you. The only difference is that if you join me, if you _help _me, I'll bring you with me. I really _can't _wait to be free of this place, having someone jump you every five minutes for the rest of eternity is not fun. Now, do you want to come with me? Or riot in Purgatory forever?" it asked getting impatient. "Or, at least until something takes you out. There are packs of 5, 6, 10, out there, maybe some larger still. How much longer can you keep fighting? How much longer till one comes along that you can't overpower will all your tricks?" it asked.

Cas chose that moment to place his hand on Dean's shoulder. Dean wasn't sure if the angel meant to comfort him, or hold him back so he wouldn't hurt the monster. Either way, Dean stopped. What _would _happen… if he was taken out by one of the millions of monsters in Purgatory? What would happen to Cas? He was barely hanging on as it was… How much more could an angel take of being in a place of pure evil? Could Dean keep him here? He glanced at the creature. He loathed it, but he loved family more than he hated monsters. And Cas was his family. If there was any way, any way at all, that he could take him away from this, then he had to try… Even if it meant working with a monster of Purgatory. "What will it be, then?" he heard it asked. He slowly lifted his eyes to look at its face, they were anything but friendly. He could always kill it after they all escaped Purgatory. And if it got away? Then he would hunt it down. "Fine" Dean said, nearly through his teeth. The creature smiled, and held out its hand. Dean grimaced, wondering if it was enjoying this, then grasped its hand and they shook.


	5. More Dangerous Places

***************Disclaimer* I do not own Supernatural, or any of the characters, nor to I claim ownership. I'm just a fan.**

**Chapter Four**

The vampire was right. There were places _far _more dangerous in Purgatory. They had been scouring Purgatory for the ingredients needed for the ritual, or spell, or whatever. The vampire had given Dean a full list. It had tried to get Cas to search as well, saying that three pairs of eyes were better than two. Dean wasn't sure if it knew Cas was an angel, but he wasn't about to tell it. He refused to let Cas go out alone. If it had known Cas was an angel, Dean was sure it would have argued much more. It more than likely knew Cas wasn't human, or all human, but it hadn't guessed he was an angel… yet. It was only a matter of time before Cas disappeared again, and the sound of his beating wings was unmistakable… not many creatures had wings.

Dean kept Cas at his side. He didn't want him near the vampire, at least not when he was not around. It made the searching much slower. Not only did Cas' mind wander, but he wandered around as well…. He slowed down, inspected insignificant weeds or bushes, or stood statue still and listened for something Dean would not hear. Dean often found himself grabbing his arm and pulling him along. The vampire went along its own way. The only time they paired up was when it informed Dean that the location of the next item was risky, and that they would need to go together, watch each other's backs. Dean was again grateful that it didn't know of Cas' full capabilities. He was sure it wouldn't mind not having to walk everywhere. It if knew of Cas' wings it might want him to fly them everywhere, and Dean knew Cas couldn't do that. He didn't want it harassing Cas into using his wings, he didn't want Cas to get upset.

"What else do we need? I coulda swore the list wasn't so demanding to open the door from the outside" Dean said. He sat on the ground, leaning against a tree trunk, axe in hand. Cas stood a few feet away, to Dean's right and in his line of sight; he was staring off into space. The vampire stood in front of Dean, and a bit to the left, leaning back slightly on a tree trunk as well. Dean glanced at it every once in a while, trying to see if it was getting any thoughts in its head. It had to notice Cas' odd behavior. "We're more than half-way done… the last aren't even the trickiest" it assured.

They had already collected the blood of creatures of Purgatory. Not creature, creature_s_, plural. The vampire had said they had to have some from at least three species, and it had to be a lot.

_Dean caught them a werewolf and a ghoul. He then proceeded to pretty much drain both creatures of blood .They then caught a wendigo together, and then Dean caught a vampire. He told himself he caught it just to be sure, the spell asked for at _least_ three, which meant it couldn't hurt their chances if they used more, right? The truth was, Dean wasn't sure if he caught it simply because he could, or to see the vampire's reaction when they bled it dry as they had the other three. It didn't even flinch as Dean sliced the vampire's throat. Cas stood near it as Dean worked, which Dean did not like. "Does this not bother you?" Cas asked, his tone reminding Dean of the old Cas, the one who was still under Heaven's leash, how he stared into Dean's eyes and seemed to look into his soul, finding all the emotions he tried to keep locked up. For some reason, the fact that Cas was using that voice with the vampire sparked something in Dean, he dug into the creature in his hand's throat more roughly than needed. Dean could see from the corner of his eye vampire shake its head. "Why should I? They mean nothing to me and are nothing to me. I do not pity a vampire any more than I did the werewolf, or ghoul. I do not sympathize just because they are my same species… That is an entirely human thing to do" it said, turning its head to look at Cas. Cas gazed back at it, watching it with his head tilted slightly. Dean focused his attention entirely on the vampire. He shred its throat, cutting in deeper and longer than he needed to. It gurgled, its fangs sank back into its gums, and it went limp in his grasp. _

Dean came back to the present, "Okay, so what else do we need?" he asked again, more directly this time, as he did not have the list memorized. Besides the blood, they had also caught a few herbs. Dean had no idea how they managed to grow in Purgatory, or why they were so special [they looked like weeds to him]. They'd even had to scrape the bark off of what the vampire swore was a very old, very important tree. It looked just like all the other trees, but the vampire said it came directly from earth.

_"God planted this tree so as to fool the leviathans into thinking they were still in earth, a new part of earth that He had just created. The Leviathans never dreamed that He would want to trap them anywhere. They walked in looking for something new to eat, and God shut the door behind them" _

Dean looked at the vampire; it wasn't much of a story teller. "So?" Dean asked again, getting impatient. The vampire looked at him, it seemed reluctant to speak. "_Well?_" Dean nearly growled, getting ready to stand up. "To open the doors we need the blood of the reason behind their closing" it said. Dean rolled his eyes, "Skip the riddles, you aren't very good at them" Dean said, though he had a feeling it was just stalling. It didn't _want _to tell him. Why? "What aren't you telling me?" Dean asked, standing up, shoulders tense, axe in hand. He advanced toward the vampire, looking very menacing indeed.

"No way!" Dean snarling, pacing a few paces away from the vampire so as to not be within decapitating distance. "But Dean" it tried again. "I said NO. FREAKEN. WAY!" Dean shouted, whirling around to face he vampire. He had no idea why he stopped himself from swearing. Maybe because he was so close to strangling the vampire, he feared anything might put him over the edge. "It's not as bad as it sounds" it began, before Dean cut him off. "No, okay, no. We're out. If you want to get out so bad, you can fetch it yourself!" Dean vented. He knew, he had _known _the vampire's motives were suspicious. Of course it wasn't doing any of this out of the goodness of its heart. It just wanted bait.

"This is why you needed my help, isn't it? So I could go fetch it, get eaten, then you could walk away clean, without a hunter on your back. You know there is no way to retrieve it without getting torn to shreds!" Dean accused the vampire. The vampire had long stopped talking; it just waited for Dean to get it all out of his chest. "Are you done?" it asked, after Dean was silent for six seconds. "No!" Dean roared, but he said nothing more. He just paced around angrily. Cas watched him, still standing in his same spot. He hadn't moved, he'd only looked Dean's direction when he'd felt the hunter's anxiety and angry wash over him. He followed Dean's moments with his eyes. Dean didn't have to look his way; he could feel his eyes on him.

"It's not how you think-" the vampire began. "Well then how is it?!" Dean interrupted again. It narrowed its eyes, beginning to get impatient. "If you will shut it for five minutes, I'll TELL YOU!" it snarled. Dean's eyes widened, as if in challenge, but he simply started pacing again. "It's perfectly 'safe' no more dangerous than our last runs" it assured. "Oh yeah? Well then how come you waited so long to tell me this was one of the ingredients?" Dean asked. "Because I knew you'd react this way!" it replied. "No one ever takes it to well when Leviathans are mentioned."

"We don't even need to bleed them dry. We just need _some_ blood" the vampire said, walking beside and a bit behind Dean. Dean held onto Cas' right forearm with his left hand, pushing him along in front of him. No way was he letting Cas disappear on him on _this _mission. Cas seemed to be rigid, and not fully here. He stared straight ahead with unseeing eyes, as if he were elsewhere and had only left his body behind. Dean tightened his grip on the angel, not liking the thought. "What else do we need?" Dean asked after a while, his voice clearly saying, 'I don't want any more surprises'. "After we collect the Leviathan's blood we can go ahead and search for the place in which to perform the ritual, it can't be executed just anywhere" it said. Dean was silent for a moment more, before asking. "How do you know we are going the right way?" he asked. "I can feel it" it replied, "And I know you can too. You've never been to this part of Purgatory have you? That's because some instinct told you to keep away, to head any which way but this one" it said.

Castiel did not balk, but he couldn't help tensing up as they neared the center of Purgatory. He could feel them, feel what was gathered there. Feel who was gathered there. He didn't want to go there. His grace recoiled at the waves of darkness that rolled from the center of Purgatory, as if they meant to swallow up his light. He locked himself inside, just going through the motions of walking. Dean was gripping his arm pretty tightly, Castiel was glad for that. The still moderately logical part of his brain knew this meant Dean would tag along if he flew away. It also knew Castiel might not head to somewhere good. Despite everything, Castiel strongest instinct was to grab Dean and take off. But there was no escaping Purgatory, and they might end up somewhere worse. Castiel didn't want Dean to end up someplace worst. So he did his best to stay still, stay there.

The only thing Dean could hear was the sound of his own breathing, and the rustle of leaves under foot. That could be considered a good thing, except Purgatory didn't have _good things_. The phrase 'too quiet' came to mind as they proceeded forward. Nothing but footfalls, their breathing, and the clanking of chains. 'Chains?' Dean thought, slowing down. Though it struck him as odd, he was not mistaken. He could hear chains rattling. He glanced up and caught a glimpse of a horrifying shadow from between the trees. It was a serpent, with legs. Four long, strong, sturdy legs supported a long and lean body. The neck arched gracefully, it was attached to a long head. It had a sort of dorsal fin running the length of its back to its tail, it started out small on the back of its neck, sloped upward when it reached its back, then decreased into nothingness at its tail. It made Dean think of dragons and dinosaurs. And serpents, large, powerful, dangerous mythical serpetns. The creature moved again, swinging its long tail, flicking it like a cat. Hissing with discomfort, it jerked against its chains. They wouldn't budge, and so it snarled, it opened its mouth in a near 90 degree angle; Dean could make out the sharp teeth lining the inside of its mouth, and the snake-like tongue, forked and all, which flicked out. It gave out a tremendous roar, which stopped Dean cold, then lowered its mighty head, it's back arched and followed the heads lead, concealing the entire creature from Dean's view.

Dean breath in hard, he looked back at the vampire, eyes wide. How could they ever hope to get past that? The vampire motioned for Dean to keep moving, walking around him and crouching low. Dean took a deep breath, pushed Cas behind him, and followed it. The vampire paused behind a tree trunk, glanced at Dean as if to assure itself that Dean had its back, and then leaped out. Dean jumped out right behind it. He heard snarling, and the snapping of jaws. He barely got to glance around before he felt something slam into him. It felt like a tail, one belonging to Godzilla. It slammed into his stomach and chest, knocking the air out of him and sending him flying. The world blurred past as he cartwheeled through the air, then slammed into a tree trunk, everything going black.

"Dean!" Castiel shouted, in an instant he was at Dean's side. His wings unfolded, stretching out protectively on each side, as if he could shield Dean from view. He reached down with two fingers just as he was tackled. He could hear Benny shouting "Look out!" but he wasn't sure it if was before or after he was tackled. The creature slammed him into the ground a few feet from Dean. The claws from its right hand sunk into his left shoulder, dragging him underneath it. Its left claws then sunk into his right shoulder, holding him in place. Castiel could see Benny fighting off two other creatures, vampires, to his right as a third, a skin-walker, circled around him. Castiel's wings were still unfurled, they were stretched out along the ground, much like an angels wings were after being killed by an Angel Blade.

Castiel struggled again the werewolf than held him down. A ghoul had pinned his other arm to the ground, its finger nails tore into Castiel's flesh through the dirty coat. Benny's cries faded away as the two creatures snarled at each other, each wanting Castiel for itself. A Hellhound walked into view. It stopped half a foot from Castiel's shoulder, its forepaws stepping on Castiel's right wing. Its paw pads sizzled beneath it slightly, smoke rising up. Here, in Purgatory, it could touch and see Castiel's true image without Castiel's consent. At least part of it, such as Castiel's wings, as the angel had then out and exposed. It shouldn't want to though, as the angel's grace burned away at it. It wasn't even a soul; it was purely a creation of Hell, just as Castiel was purely a creation of Heaven. Their natures did not mix; Castiel's wings twitched and recoiled where the Hellhound paws touched it, trying to jerk away, the werewolf and ghoul forgotten.

Castiel gazed at the form he had seen plentiful times before, able to focus on it despite the fact that a werewolf and ghoul were trying to pull him in two. They didn't concern him as the Hellhound did; he easily put them out of his mind. He jerked his arms, eyes intent on the Hellhound, the ghoul's nails cut into his side through the flimsy hospital shirt in response. His attention remained on the Hellhound; he barely noticed the ghoul's response. This particular Hellhound was built like a pit-bull, taller than a German Shepard. It was made up of black smoke, much like that of demons, only thet one took the solid form of a dog. Its muzzle was forever wrinkled in a snarl, its large and sharp fangs poking out from beneath its lips. Small tendrils of smoke evaporated off its body, though for the most part they kept the shape of a dog. Though made of black smoke, its claws and fangs were felt like jagged knives. Castiel knew it wouldn't try and bit him though; its jaws would sizzle and burn at the full touch of his grace.

Castiel was so intent on the Hellhound; he didn't remember the other two creatures until the werewolf sank its fangs into the side of his neck, its bottom teeth digging into the edge of his throat, and its top teeth getting a hold of the back of his neck. Blood began to flow out freely in the next instant. The Hellhound stepped off of Castiel's wing, turning its gaze on Dean. Castiel's eyes blazed momentarily as protectiveness surged through him. He lifted up his mighty wing and smacked the Hellhound, it yelped as the wing burned at its 'flesh' the black smoke evaporating where his wing touched it.

Castiel sat up, determined not to let the Hellhound near Dean. The ghoul tackled him to the ground. Having once again forgotten about the less significant monsters, Castiel was caught by surprise. The ghoul latched onto the curve where his should met with his neck, its teeth nicking Castiel's collar bone, its bite being more focused on his shoulder than his neck. The Hellhound snarled viciously causing Castiel to fear for Dean's safety, he was knocked out cold mere feet away. Castiel glanced at the ghoul, "I'm sorry" he said, before pressing his hand against its forehead [this proved tricky, as he had to maneuver his arm under the werewolf] Bright light shined out of the ghoul's eyes and it went limp, falling on top of Castiel's chest. Castiel's arm fell onto the ground limply; the amount of energy that was required to burn the evil essence of a creature exhausted him. He tore the werewolf off of himself, then pushed the ghoul's body away and stood up, getting between the Hellhound and Dean. He was a bit unsteady on his feet, the color of his trench coat was bathe in blood, it streaked down the sides, and down the sleeves. The top half of his hospital shirt was a deep red. The Hellhound launched itself at him just as the werewolf recovered and also pounced. Prioritizing, Castiel's hand flashed up to grip the Hellhound's throat, ignoring the werewolf as it shoved him to the ground. Castiel kept his grip on the Hellhound, it snapped its jaws toward him throat as he lifted his hand and pressed it to his head. Gathering his strength, Castiel blast his light through the creature, killing it in seconds.

Castiel went limp, wiped out after using his power twice. He glanced up, over the werewolf's shoulder as Benny stabbed it with his knife, dragging it off and then stabbing it again, then time through the heart. Castiel's head lay on the ground, he didn't bother pick it up. He watched Benny, now splattered with fresh blood, turn around to face another enemy. Castiel recognized the skin-walker that had been circling around Benny before. It looked a lot like a wolf. It was limping from a shoulder wound but was otherwise unhurt. Benny crouched in front of Castiel, his knife held out. Castiel watched his back as the skin-walker pounced.

Dean opened his eyes groggily, his vision blurry, and his head hurting like hell. The first think he noticed was Cas, crumpled on the ground, laying half on his right side, and half on his back. Dean nearly shot up into a sitting position, but his protesting head and muscles didn't allow it. He then noticed the vampire, crouching in front of Cas in a position that could only be described as protective. Dean blinked his eyes, trying to get his vision to focus more, just as a large four legged, dog-like creature leaped at the vampire. Its arm flashed forward, knife in hand and it snapped the creature straight through the heart. Once the creature went limp, it pulled the knife out and flung its body onto the floor.

Dean struggled to his feet, scrambling to get over to Cas. The vampire watched him as he reached his friend and gently turned him over. He gasped at the sight of all the blood. 'God, this has to be at least two pints, likely more!' Dean thought, panicked. He had to verbally remind himself that Cas was an angel, and the same rules didn't apply to him. This was likely nothing to him… That didn't explain why the angel was so lifeless in his arms, or why Cas hadn't healed his wounds yet. Dean surveyed the area, looking for answers. All he found were six dead bodies, two with their eyes burned out. Dean looked back at Cas, who groaned and looked up at Dean innocently. Aside from his obvious weak state, he didn't look in any danger of dying at the moment, which gave Dean obvious joy. "Cas, you stupid son-of-a-bitch" Dean said, still cradling the angel in his arms as he would a small child. "I've _told _you _not _to do that!" he said, in a hushed tone, not knowing how much the vampire had seen. 'The vampire' Dean thought, taking in a deep breath.

The four other bodies had obviously been killed by a sharp weapon, Not and angel. Two lay yards away, but the others were nearly close enough to touch. Dean had seen the wolf-like creature get taken down with his own eyes. The vampire had likely saved Cas' life, the angel had obviously been in no condition to stand, much less fight, after using his blinding-light power. "Uh, hey" Dean said, when Benny turned away. "Thanks, for uh, keeping him safe" he finished. "… Benny." He thought he saw the ghost of a smile on the vampire's lips as it nodded once in acknowledgement to Dean's gratitude.

"Come on, it's not that bad, come on" Dean said, helping Cas to his feet. There was no sign of what ever had knocked Dean out, and they had to get a move on. Sliding Cas' arm over his shoulder to support some of the angel's weight, Dean started forward. He didn't get far before loud, slow, sarcastic clapping filled the air. "Very good, Dean" a voice called out from beyond the trees. "You don't disappoint, do you? How did you manage to survive in Purgatory for so long?"


	6. All Coming Together

*******************Disclaimer* I do not own Supernatural (nor do I claim to), I just love it and happen to get alot of ideas for stories in my head.**

**Chapter Five**

Charging no more than a couple of feet into the trees, Dean came across a small clearing. Large trees, bigger than Redwoods, circled the area; in the middle lay a large grey stone, on which sat a tall, lean man dressed in a grey suit, light blue shirt, and blue tie. The man rested his forearms on his knees; head bowed, eyes on the floor, though he looked up at Dean's approach. He had a thick metal collar made of iron around his neck, as well as shackles around his wrists and ankles, also made of iron; they were all connected with silver chains. Excluding a few black and red stains on his suit, the man looked spiffy. He smiled at Dean, whose lip trembled, threatening to pull into a snarl. "Dick Roman" he said through his teeth.

The leader of the Leviathans looked at his hands, before giving off a small chuckle. "Right, well, the _real_ Dick Roman is long dead" he said, "And believe me, my true form is far more menacing than that of some billionaire businessman" he added. He shifted his gaze to Castiel, looking him up and down, as if able to see beyond the dark haired man in the trench coat. "Yes, even more imposing than yours" he said with a smile. Dean took a step back and pushed Cas behind him, hiding him partially from view with his own body. "How are things for my little ride into paradise?" he asked, a slightly sneer in its voice.

"Better than they are going for you, I can see" Dean sneered back, gesturing to the chains that imprisoned Dick. Dick looked down at his hands, as if he had to remind himself that the chains were there. The chain connecting his collar to his shackles clanked at the movement. "Yes well, I'm used to these" he said.

"Enough chat" the vampire said, pulling out his knife. Dick chuckled at the sight of the blade. "Right, right…. I've heard of you, the little engine that could, or thinks it can… Tell me, how does it feel to have that voice screaming in your head? I'll bet its torture with two fresh sources of blood standing mere feet away. How much easier it would be to tear out their throats….how _do_ you manage?" Dick asked, with a 'smile'. "It's not as easy as it looks" the vampire said, though the strain in his voice said that statement was a lot more truth that some might think. "I'll bet" Dick said, before looking over at Dean and Castiel. "I'm not surprised at who you've recruited onto your hopeless task" Dick said, when Benny began to advance with the knife. Dick stood up, his chains handing loosely on his collar and shackles. Dean took a step back. Dick was chained to the rock, but Leviathans were strong, it could surely pull free. Dick paced a bit, ignoring the chains completely; Dean's eyes followed his every move.

"Hopeless? We don't need to bleed you dry, just need a sample" Benny said, though he didn't advance further. Dick glanced at him, then at Dean. "You know why we were so ravenous after returning to earth?" he asked, completely ignoring the vampire for the time being. Not waiting for the proper curiosity to surface, Dick continued by saying, "See these?" pointing to his chains. "All other creatures of Purgatory are free to be themselves, to finally prey on those weaker than themselves, like the predators they are. Vampires, werewolves, ghouls, Wendigos, skin walkers, all creatures here feast, or become the feast. All except Leviathans..." Dick said. Dean hadn't interrupted yet, so Dick continued. "Though Purgatory was created as a prison for us and later and afterlife for _them_, for other _monsters_, God seemed to fear, or care, that we might devour our jail as well" he said. He picked up one of his long chains in his hand. It burned red and his skin sizzled, though he hardly seemed to notice. He gave the chain a squeeze, the veins in his hand showing the force behind the grip, before letting it drop again. The burnt skin quickly healed, Leviathans weren't hurt that easily. "Leviathans were the only creatures of Purgatory who weren't able to move, who were chained, who could not eat. When we returned to earth, to the 7 billion people just waiting unknowingly… it was like… it was like an all you can eat buffet" Dick said. He got to the end of his chain; it pulled taunt again his collar, then began to burn red, the metal heating up. Dick began to walk to his rock. As soon as the chain was no longer taunt, it began to cool down once more.

Dick sat on his rock, jerking his hands at the uncomfortable feeling of having weighty chains drag down his wrists. Benny slowly circled around behind him, to the side of the rock, Dean made an effort not to look at him, or pull attention to him. "If you want me to feel sorry for you, then you will be disappointed" Dean said, as Dick relaxed and leaned on his knees with his elbows. "I don't care for monsters" he added. "And I don't care for snarky lunch" Dick replied. Dean blinked, then stiffened, remembering the shadow of a serpent he'd seen. He knew that was Dick's true form and wondered if his tail could reach him from there. He backed up into Cas a bit more. Benny crept along the stone and raised his knife, preparing to stab Dick.

Dick sighed and turned around to look Benny in the face, "You really think you can sneak up on a _Leviathan_?" he asked, standing up. Benny backed up quickly, but not fast enough. Dick snatched the knife from the vampire's hand then sat back down. "So, the spell calls for some of _my_ blood, or just _any_ Leviathan?" he asked.

Dick looked at the knife, turning over in his hands, as Dean and Benny watched. Dean wondered why it was doing all this. Was it some sort of 'play with your food' kind of deal? Dick held the handle with his right hand and rested the blade on the palm of his left. Without warning, the Leviathan sliced into his skin. Black ooze began to flow out. Dean and Benny stared at the Leviathan, each with his own incredulous look on his face.

"So, how much do you need?" Dick asked, the knife still embedded slightly in his palm. Dean and Benny looked at each other, before Benny took a step toward Dick. Dean reached out and grabbed his sleeve, halting him. He didn't trust Dick one bit. "So that's it?" he asked, not hiding an ounce of his doubt. "You're just going to give us the ingredient to get out of Purgatory?" he continued, 'when it was us who shoved you back in…' he added silently. Dick just looked at him, as if waiting impatiently for Dean to 'get it all off his chest'. "Why?" was the only other thing Dean could think of saying.

Dick sighed, "Because I'm curious… as to how far you will get…. Before one of you is _ripped _to _shreds _before the very eyes of you companions, and how soon the next will follow, then the next" he hissed out through his teeth with malice. Dean though he caught a glance of the Leviathan's forked tongue. He stiffed, his back becoming very straight and pressing against Cas. Dean thought he felt the angel tremble. He glanced back to see if Cas had been frightened by Dick's words to find Cas staring at him… with the same protective look that Dean knew was reflected in his own eyes. Dick's words had Cas worried about _him_. Dean gazed at Cas for a moment longer before glaring at Dick. "If that happens, which there is a good chance of in a place like this, you still have no way of knowing, chained as you are to your doghouse" he said. "Don't be so sure Dean, I have a way of knowing what happens in Purgatory; I am, after all, its first resident."

While Dean and Dick had a small staring contest, Benny collected the black ooze that was Leviathan blood from the cut on Dick's palm. "You know what I think?" Dean said, pacing a bit closer. "I think you just can't stand, that we" he said, gesturing to Cas, Benny, and himself, "Are getting out, while you will remain here, stuck and _chained_, for the rest of _eternity_." Dick didn't answer, but the look he gave Dean said enough 'You are _not _getting out.' Benny backed away, slowly taking his knife from Dick's hand, then quickly getting out of reach again. Dick made no move toward him; he just looked at the vampire with amusement. "I'm not going to chase you" he said, once the unlikely trio was huddled together. "As I've already stated, I'd rather see just how far you get, and how gets knocked off first… I'm curious to see if my guess is right, than to just dispose of you here and now" he said.

Dean grabbed Castiel's forearm and began to lead him away. Benny backed up for a few feet, before pivoting on his heel and walking ahead. Castiel glanced over his shoulder, looking at Dick for as long as possible. The Leviathan smiled back, Castiel could see the rows of sharp teeth, the Leviathan's _real_ teeth. 'I'll see you again, soon' Dick seemed to say, Castiel knew Dick was aware of something he had not mentioned to them, he could see it in the Leviathan's eyes. Dick narrowed his eyes and flashed Castiel his teeth, before the angel was pulled out of sight by Dean.

"Okay so, we got everything right? Now what do we do?" Dean asked. Benny seemed to think, before saying, "Now we find the location" he said. "It's the same place were the door opened before, when we were all sucked out of Purgatory" he added, "It's safe to say, that it might be the door to Purgatory… we don't open _a_ door, we have to open _the _door, with the key." Dean glanced at Cas quickly, as if he had a hope of doing so without being noticed by the angel, before looking back at Benny and saying "Okay then, do you have any idea where that might _be_?" Benny, again, took some time to answer. "We were sucked out, and thrown back in from the same place. It should not be difficult to find, I can feel it… I _did _pass through it _twice_."

"And, once we find this… place?" Dean asked, after a few minutes of walking in silence. "Once we find it… we perform the spell- the ritual, draw a sigil, chant some words, the door opens and we hop out" Benny said. Dean gave him an annoyed glare, nothing was ever that simple. Out of the corner of his eye, he checked on Cas, who was walking between him and Benny, but a bit behind.

"Well, this is all coming together nicely, except we can't find the door." Dean said, after another long moment of walking in silence. He paused and looked at Benny, before asking "So, how does this work? You can lead us to the door of Purgatory with some crazy, invisible bat-signal or something?" "Not quite" Benny said. "What then? How are you following the… whatever you're following?" Dean asked. "I'm not" Benny said "I might be able to feel the door when we're close…" he began to add, before Dean cut him off. "So, we're just supposed to roam around Purgatory until you're spidey-senses tingle? That, might literally years, Benny, _years_!" he said. "Oh, great plan, we will travel so must faster together, we only you can sense the door, and only when your close enough to it!"

Dean sighed and stopped walking, glancing around; it was about time they stop and rest. As if able to sense the direction Dean's thoughts were taking, Cas squatted down in what appeared to be an awkward and uncomfortable sitting position, but Dean guessed angel-muscles didn't work the same as human muscles because Cas could stay like that a long time. Just as he could stay stand, statue still, for a long amount of time, the angel was simply an expert at statue-still.

Benny glanced around before walking over to a nearby tree and leaning on it. He put down his weapon at his feet. Dean continued to scan their surroundings, before muttering "I'm going to go take a look around." Just because he had company didn't mean he'd stopped scoping the perimeter whenever they arrived to a new location. He glanced at Cas, then shifted his eyes to Benny. He quietly cleared his throat, feeling quite awkward, before saying "Watch him" in a voice that sounded more like he was asking, not commanding it, of the vampire. Benny, seemly taken by surprise by Dean's civil tone, dipped his head in a nod. Dean nodded back, as if reassure him himself. He began to walk away, before stopping and giving Benny one final glace "Take care of him" he said. "Please." He then walked off to see if any monsters of Purgatory were roaming around their current 'camp.'

Benny watched 'Cas' for a while, noticing he didn't move, not even a twitch. No human could stay that still. Even Benny himself, a vampire, found himself fidgeting, crossing and uncrossing his arms or a leg over the other. 'Cas' stared at nothing in the distance, his eyes unfocused. He was squatted down, legs bent so he very nearly sat on his heels, 'resting' on his calves instead. He had his left arm bent at the elbow, laid across his thighs, and his right arm, bent at a slightly more obtuse angle, lay across his right thigh and left knee. His back was hunched over. Benny pressed his lips into a thin line after, many minutes having passed, he remained the same.

"Cas, is it?" Benny asked, in a loud enough voice that a rang out through the surrounding area, easily heard by someone five feet away, as Cas was. He did not answer, so Benny shrugged off the tree trunk and walked forward. Cas blinked and glanced up as he neared, as if he had been able to seen him getting nearer. "Cas?" Benny said, seeing his eyes were still a bit unfocused. "My name is Castiel" he said, tilting his head slightly to see Benny's face. Benny nodded, though he said nothing more. This wasn't really a guy whose vibe encouraged chit-chat.

"Can you really get Dean out of Purgatory?" Castiel asked after a moment. Benny was startled slightly, as he thought he had gone into another one of his little trances. He nodded, "If I can find the door, I can get us out" he said. Castiel nodded slowly, his eyes going unfocused again, before he said "You have to get him out" fervor in his eyes and his voice as he turned to look Benny straight in the eye, so as to not leave any doubt that his words were for Benny, and spoken with a clear mind. "I will get him through the door" Benny promised, "But I am not so sure I can find it" he said, "At least not on my own." He paused for a moment; Castiel was no longer looking at him, instead staring into the distance once more. "But… you can, can't you?" he asked slowly.

Castiel looked back up at Benny, just as slowly as Benny's last words had been spoken. They seemed confused. "I saw what you did to that Hellhound's soul" Benny clarified. "And there's only one thing that I know of, that can pull that off" he added. He waited, as if expecting Castiel to finish for him. When he didn't speak again, Benny finished his own train of thought. "You're an angel" he stated more than asked. "You're the one that let us all out of this place, at least momentarily" he added, with a lot more confidence and matter-of-fact tone in his voice.


	7. Stupid Little Heroic Angels

***********************Disclaimer* I do not own Supernatural (nor do I claim to), I just love it and happen to get alot of ideas for stories in my head.**

**Chapter Six**

Castiel looked up at Benny with very big, very blue, very wide eyes, as if confused, or scared, or both. "You could get us out of there. Again" Benny said, his tone softening slightly, though it was more like a seductive purr than gentle softness. Something like remorse crinkled at the corners of Castiel's eyes. "You could blast us right out of this prison" Benny added, getting low and close to Castiel's ear. Castiel turned his head away and stared at the ground, shrinking into himself a bit more. "I can't" he said, with a sort of finality in his voice, which was suddenly full of sorrow. He did not look up, nor speak to Benny again.

Dean arrived back at their 'camp' to find Cas in the same squatting position as he had left him, except this time Benny was standing behind him. Cas paid him no heed. Benny looked up at the sound of leaves rustling beneath Dean's boots. He seemed a bit surprised, but quickly composed himself, cleared his throat, and asked, "Is he always this quiet?" He stepped aside when Dean walked by, giving him room to crouch by Cas. Dean placed his hand on his shoulder. "Yeah, he… he doesn't talk much" Dean said. "Come on Cas, time to go" Dean said, giving the angel a pat on the back before straightening up once more. "So soon?" Benny asked, an unvoiced question in his voice. "Yeah, I ganked a pack of skin walkers not far from here, four strong, the carcasses will attract others… if they are not already creeping about. I'd rather get out of the way before they arrive here and try to take a bite out of us as well" he said.

Cas had gotten up during the conversation. Dean glanced around, picked a random direction, excluding the one they had come from, and began to walk. Benny traveled at his side and Dean reminded him to call out if he got any 'Purgatory door-vibes'. Unless Benny felt the door, Dean wasn't about to stop until he had put a comfortable distance between themselves and their last camp.

They weren't able to settle once they were far enough away to put Dean's instincts at ease, however. Shortly after arriving at their new camp, they were attacked by a couple of ghouls. Dean and Benny made quick work of them, but that wasn't the end of it. They hurried off, only to run into a pack of three shape shifters half way through their trip. Dean didn't get uneasy; he had come to expect a battle from Purgatory, and all its inhabitants. It wasn't until Benny spoke out that Dean began to feel troubled. "Do they seem to be following us?" the vampire asked, glancing over his shoulder. Dean spared him a look, before thinking and realizing that they had run into many more monsters than was a normal amount for a day in Purgatory. The creatures seemed to be working better together as well. They usually ran into one, or a couple, now they were getting packs of threes and fours? And, though Dean would have not given this much thought had Benny not just mentioned it now, they all seemed extra eager to tear into them, specifically them. "Now that you mention it-" Dean said. "Look out!" Benny yelled, pulling Dean to the ground as a Wendigo sprint past.

"Cas!" Dean yelled, out of instinct, searching for his friend, trying to make sure he was okay. His eyes scanned the surrounding area, as Benny hauled him to his feet. "Cas?!" Dean shouted once more. Instantaneous relief flood into him when he noticed the angel crouching by a tree, starring at something Dean could not see. "Cas?" Dean called out to his friend, at the same time Benny tugged on his arm, shouting "We have to go!" in his ear.

Dean knew they had to get out of there, they had to prepare incase the Wendigo returned, but Cas wasn't moving… and Dean wouldn't start running until he was sure Cas would follow. Dean groped at the air, as if he would magically come in contact with Cas' trench coat if he wished it hard enough. Benny was attempting to pull him in the other direction. Dean turned around to yell at him to stop, and got a glimpse of the Wendigo. Benny was attempting to follow it with his eyes, but it moved to fast. It was running, circling around them. Trying to judge the best direction to attack from? "Cas, come on! We have to go!" Dean shouted, shrugging Benny's grasp off roughly and taking a couple of steps toward Cas. He was knocked to the ground in the next instant.

Things happened very fast after that. Dean heard Cas' panicked cry "Dean!" as he struggled on the ground with the Wendigo, who was lifting him off the ground, most likely to carry him off to eat him in peace. The next second, Dean was falling to the floor with a thud. He blinked and scrambled to get into a sitting position. The Wendigo was gone…as was Cas. He shot up, on his feet in an instant, turning around wildly, his eyes searching every corner of the area, and getting no sight of the dirty trench coat, or it's equally dirty owner. "Cas?! Cas!" Dean cried out, panic bubbling up. He stopped his rapid pivoting and looked at Benny, his eyes feverish, hoping Benny could put his mind at ease. Benny simply shook his head slowly, and then shrugged his shoulders, equally slow. Dean's own shoulders sagged.

Castiel's entire being went ridged when the Wendigo leaped out at Dean. He'd been following its every move, but had still been caught by surprise when it pounced. Quick though it was, its speed did not match that of an angel's. Castiel's shock lasted less than a second; he was at Dean's side as his friend hit the ground. He gripped the Wendigo in an unbreakable grasp and tore him off at the same time as his wings unfurled and he took flight, putting distance between Dean and the Wendigo. This all happened in less than two seconds.

Though not as quick as an angel, Wendigos were still very fast. It was already struggling in Castiel's grip when they landed. Its arm reached over, trying to claw at Castiel. The angel didn't flinch; he just placed his hand on the Wendigo's forehead and burned its essence away. The body crumpled to the ground, having only left Castiel a few claw marks on the temple as a reminder of the fight. Castiel swayed a bit on his feet. It really sapped his strength to do that often. His right hand went up to brush his fingers over the right side of his face, they came back sticky with blood; his head shook slowly from side to side, he was feeling a bit dizzy.

"Cas?! Cas!" Dean's anxious cries reached Castiel's mind, following by a blow of guilt and fear. He glanced up, straightening. Dean was calling him…..he should answer. He slowly spread out his wings, stretching them to their full length. "Ah ah ah….hold on just a moment, Castiel" came a voice behind him. Confused, Castiel turned to search for the face of who had spoken. A young girl, with big brown eyes, fair skin, pink lips, and light brown hair, nearly blond in some places, stared back at him. She smiled sweetly at him, before saying "Pizin noco iad" still smiling. Castiel's face twisted in agony as the Enochian chant filled him with sudden, clawing pain. It quickly brought him to his knees. He fell onto his side shortly after, curling up in a vain effort to subdue the agony.

'Cas, you stupid little son-of-a-bitch' Dean thought, 'What if the Wendigo had taken a bit out of him... or brought him to a nest of Wendigos... what if angels could be eaten in Purgatory?' "But _where_ are we going?" Benny huffed, struggling to keep up with Dean's long strides. Dean didn't know the answer, so he simply retorted "To find Cas." "But _where_? You don't know where to look. He just, vanished" Benny said, still behind Dean. It didn't seem possible for Dean to tense up any more than he already was, but he managed. "I'm _aware_ of that, Benny" he said, glaring at the space in front of him. "And you _repeating it _every few seconds will not make the answer _appear _in my head! He's gone, and now I have to find him. End of story!" he growled. They tread in silence for a moment. Dean sighed and glanced back at Benny, slowing down to do so. "Can you… you know… track him? Vampires have a better sense of smell than humans… right?" he asked, a small bit of hope in his voice. Benny nodded hesitantly, "Yes, but I can't find him if he just disappeared into thin air…. I'd need a trail to follow, just like hunters need a trail to find… whatever they're hunting at the moment." He said.

Castiel groaned in agony, trying to twist himself into a tighter and tighter ball. The pain was unbearable, and unrelenting. He hugged his sides and ducked his head in, chin to chest, squeezing his eyes tight. "Well, well. I heard you had ended up here, but I didn't believe it. How lucky am I? I don't know whether to _tear _all the misery I've lived in this place out of your pretty angel hide, or keep you alive for a while longer….. You can, after all, get me out of here, which means, you _will _get me out of here." She said. Castiel could do nothing but listen, though it was obvious the girl _meant _for this conversation to be one sided.

The girl sighed and crouched down beside him, stroking his arm as one would a sleeping puppy. Castiel's arm jerked roughly, trying to shake off her grasp, his arm filled with goose bumps, he tried to squirm away, but ended up coughing violently, the second bought of coughs came with blood. It dribbled out the side of his lip and down his chin like a dark red stream. The pain… it was clawing him from the inside out… "You're going to get us all out of here" she added sweetly, in a sing-song voice, still petting him. Castiel opened one eye, face still scrunched up in a grimace, teeth bared, and attempted to glare at her. She leaned in close, putting her lips to his ear, and whispered "But you rarely travel alone, don't you? Dean's around here somewhere…. If you don't want to let us out, then I won't want to leave _his _heart in his chest" she hissed. Castiel tensed up, however momentarily, before he was back to his squirming.

Something inside Castiel clenched up, most likely the closest an angel could get to the sensing of 'heart racing.' He could not get anyone out of Purgatory, all creatures of the world, all four worlds, Heaven, Hell, Earth, and now it seemed Purgatory as well, seemed to think Castiel was stronger than he appeared. He had survived two archangel's attacks, stopped the Apocalypse, destroyed Raphael, survived having hundreds of Leviathans inside, and had killed Dick Roman, leader of the Leviathans. No one seemed to realize God had brought him back, or that Dean had had much more to do with the stopping of the Apocalypse and stopping the Leviathans… everyone but Crowley underestimated him.

The girl straightened up, and called to someone, Castiel did not catch a name. He needed to warn Dean of what was now after him… he _had _to warn Dean. He tried to unfurl his wings, to fly, but only got them open half-ways before they seized up from the pain, twitching and jerking, not unlike human muscle spasms. He gasped inaudibly, his wings beating uselessly, pounding at the ground, half-open, in pain. He struggled to fold them back, tightly, onto his back, then settled back to his squirming. He couldn't get to Dean. He couldn't warn Dean. …. He didn't _need _to, he realized after a moment. Dean had Benny. Benny had _promised_ to get Dean _out_. Benny would keep Dean _safe_. Castiel's cheek brushed against the ground, dead and damp leaves sticking to his skin. It was going to be okay… Dean had Benny… Castiel didn't struggle as two pairs of rough hands gripped him, still curled into a tight ball as he was, and began to drag him away. He knew instantly, despite the scrambled mess his mind was, that neither of the hands belonged to the girl… The Whore of Babylon had a distinct essence to her. It's going to be okay… Cas repeated to himself. Dean's going to be _okay_….

Dean was walking with such purpose, you would have thought he knew exactly _where _he was going, but he didn't… and that infuriated him. He was pretty much ignoring Benny, he didn't have time for the vampire now, he had to find Cas. He was sure something was wrong, as it had been nearly an hour, and he had yet to reappear. It wasn't like Dean wasn't calling him; Cas' name was like a broken record in his head, being screamed out, but getting no response. It was a good thing mental voices couldn't go hoarse, or brains get sore from all the 'yelling' he'd been doing. He was getting more and more panicked by the second, but he hadn't lost hope that the little angel would suddenly appear, disoriented, but okay. Dean would give him such a scolding, he wouldn't even look at him… he'd be so mad… Dean closed his eyes, dreaming about their reunion would not bring Cas back… And deep down, he knew searching wouldn't either… Purgatory was huge… if Cas truly was in trouble, then they would never manage to get to him in time… 'I can't lose Cas, not now… not again' Dean thought. Cas was the only family he had left, and family was _everything_ to Dean. 'Cas! CAS! Get Your Feathery Ass Down Here!' he shouted angrily. He threw his head back, glancing at the sky 'Cas!' he shouted, not seeing the tree tops nor the skyline… not really. 'Cas, I SWEAR!...' Nothing… 'Cas….'

"Lilith's coming…" the Whore of Babylon whispered into Castiel's ear, like a sick, demented cat. "And Alistair, and Azazel… they are all coming… You are getting us all home" she added. She took a breath, before stroking Castiel's hair, threading her fingers in the long mess. She clenched her fingers and pulled Castiel's head back, tilting it so he'd look at her. "I was _excited _for the Apocalypse… you have no idea how long I waited for that promised day! Then, went it finally comes, I get to damn… one measly town... before I'm shoved in here… I was supposed to damn _many_ people to Hell, it was my job! And it was fun! And you ruined everything" she hissed. She reminded Castiel of Fate, Atropos was all about her job… though at least in her defense… her job had been given to her by God. It took Castiel a while to realize the Whore of Babylon hadn't finished talking, and hadn't let go of his hair, keeping his neck at an odd, uncomfortable angle. "I think the fun ended much too quickly… don't you?" she asked. Flashing a smile, she let Castiel's hair go, letting his head fall back to the ground with a soft thud. "I'm going to restart it once we get back… if Lilith, Alistair, and Azazel can't bring on the Apocalypse… then who can? Even if it is an impossible task, 40 million monsters will still be enough destruction on the world… And I can still damn many souls, Apocalypse or no Apocalypse" She said.

Castiel breathe slow, ragged breaths through his clenched teeth. 'At least Dean's safe' he thought. 'At least Dean's safe…' He couldn't open the doors to Purgatory. He couldn't fly anyone to Earth…. Not that he would be worried if he could… Unlike demons, unlike monsters, unlike humans, angels weren't breakable. Because unlike humans, monsters, and demons, angels had no soul, they weren't born, they were created. Demons were simply human souls whom Hell had mangled beyond repair and beyond recognition, until they became as twisted as those that had tortured them in the pit. And monsters? They were simply humans, unlucky enough to receive a bite, or transfer of blood and be transformed into something more. But they all still had souls. Purgatory was made up of 40 million _souls_. Angels had no soul, and little instinct for self-preservation. They did what they had to. They were warriors, soldiers. "Alistair's coming" the Whore of Babylon taunted. "The principle torturer of Hell" she purred. Castiel squeezed his eyes shut; glad, very glad, Dean was far, far away at this moment. He wasn't worried about Alistair. 'It's okay… It's okay' he thought. 'Benny will get Dean out… Dean _will_ be safe.' He curled up into a tight ball. 'It's going to be _okay_.'

A rustle in the leaves, sounding very much like the flutter of feathers, Dean's head snapped up at attention. "Cas?" he called out, walking forward slowly and scanning the surrounding area. Benny caught up with him, but Dean barely took noticed. 'Cas?' The rustling got louder…. It was defiantly in the trees, and not the sound of an angel's return. Dean's grip on his axe tightened, he was _so _not in the mood for this. He looked up at the tree tops, scanning for the creature. A thin branch snapped off. Apparently it was heavy, or wasn't made for the trees.

A thin, dirty girl leaped from the tree, smiling [insanely] at Dean. She then threw herself at him, causing him to lose his grip on his axe. She was strong, throwing Dean into the tree trunk. He slid down, patting his jacket and jeans for another weapon. All he had was Ruby's knife, and it was better than nothing. He slipped it out of his jacket and swung it out as the girl came running again. It nicked her arm and she growled, the cut glowing redish-orange where it came in contact with her skin. 'Demon' Dean realized, as her eyes became black. Benny was circling from behind. They demon smiled over her shoulder and sent him spiraling into a tree trunk with a flick of her wrist. "We have something for you" she said though her smile, eyes still black. "And I didn't get you anything" Dean grunted, leaping forward and stabbing the demon through the chest. She seemed surprised, as if she hadn't realized he could attack her. He reminded himself most of those in Purgatory weren't in their right minds.

Benny, who hadn't gotten knocked out, only stunned, came jogging forward. He wrinkled his nose, smelling. "You might not want to do that, who knows where it's been" Dean attempted to joke. "Actually" Benny said, taking a deep breath "I do." Dean blinked. "Right, the –er, enhanced smelling" he said, walking over to pick up his fallen axe. "She was with Castiel" Benny said. There was no possible way for Dean to stiffen quicker than he did the instant the words left Benny's mouth. "Where?" was all he asked, a growl threatening to emerge. "I can try to retrace-" Benny began. "Do it. Now" Dean said, turning the full force of his eyes on Benny. Demons had his angel…. his incredibly child-like angel. He would slit each and every one of their throats…

Now Dean had to follow Benny, as he was the one with the enhanced senses. Though Dean couldn't have made progress at a faster pace [they were already jogging] it still irritated him. Benny was walking off to the side, around a small mound. "I think this way's faster" Dean said, walking up the mound, why go around when you could go through? "What, Dean!" Benny said. "You can pick up the trail on the other side" Dean said, turning to look at him. Bad move. The mound turned into a giant hill on the other side. A giant, muddy hill. Dean's foot slipped when he looked over his shoulder and he fell, rolling and sliding, down the mini-mountain's face.

Dean groaned, lifting himself, push-up style, off the ground. He was covered in damp leaves and mud. He groaned and attempted to scrap some of the dirt off with his hands. He turned around to see Benny carefully sliding down after him, like some sort of an expert skier. "I don't see the point in this… we'll still have to go around when we head back… we won't be able to scale back up that…" Benny began, trailing off at Dean's glare. "I didn't _know_ there was a _cliff_!.. Benny" he said. "… It's a hill" Benny replied. Dean's lip trembled, as if itching to bare his teeth. Benny held up his hands, then stepped around Dean. "Can you find the trail?" Dean asked.

Maybe luck was on their side, Dean decided. Benny had found the trail, not Cas', but the demon-bitch Dean had ganked a while ago. It was a pretty straight forward trail, didn't seem like it wasn't taking Benny that much effort to follow it, which was why Dean told him to 'hurry the Hell up.' Dean was anxious, this was likely of the longest Dean had been apart from Cas since entering Purgatory.

Benny stopped moving. "What is it?" Dean asked, coming to a stop beside him. "…. I… I found Cas" he said. Dean's face light up for a second, before filling with fear once more "CA-" Dean started, cutting off when Benny gripped his forearm tightly and yanked him back. "Dean, we have to get out of here" Benny hissed, backing up and pulling Dean with him. Dean yanked his arm back "That's Cas over there" he said "I'm going." With that, Dean turned raced forward, not sure which direction Cas was in.

Castiel lay on the ground, deathly still, his cheek and chin reaching on the left side of his right hand. Blood pooled around his thumb. He lay on his stomach, his hair in his eyes. His eyes were open to mere slits. He felt sore all over, and couldn't have moved if he tried. The Whore of Babylon had taken the Enochian spell off, but had left it long enough that now Castiel couldn't move. He left as if he'd been in a full on battle with three angels. He remembered the last time they'd faced The Whore of Babylon, her spell had lasted much less, but Dean still had to practically carry him out and toward the car. Weak though he was, he could still sense the two demons watching him. They'd already searched him for his Angel Blade, but hadn't found it of course. Only an angel could summon an Angel Blade.

Castiel groaned, coming to. Blood no longer dribbled from the corner of his mouth, and his insides no longer felt as if they had been scrubbed raw. He opened his left eye half ways, before closing it again. He could feel the surrounding demons, though they were well out of sight. There were five of them, not including the two guarding his still form. "Cas!" he heard the outraged cry of Dean. 'Dean…' Castiel thought, almost incoherently. He struggled to open both his eyes. 'Dean!' he thought, with much more shock. Dean was here… 'No!' Castiel thought, struggling to rise, his vessel's muscles trembled, and he didn't rise so much as an inch from the ground. His wings fluttered, the 'feathers' ruffling, as if by a breeze. He had to protect Dean…. "Cas!" he heard again. 'Dean' Castiel thought, as his body went slack, 'I'm sorry.'

The first thing Dean saw as he round the corner were the men standing at attention, like malicious prison guards. The second thing he noticed was Cas' trench coat, still attached to the angel, on the ground. The angel was crumbled on the ground, as if discarded. He lay on his stomach, face hidden from Dean's view. "Cas!" Dean couldn't help but cry in his panic. Cas looked _dead_. "Cas!" The demon's attention was instantly on him, their eyes black. One of them, the younger one, flashed a smile. "Dean, we were wondering if we were going to have to go find you ourselves" a young girl's voice reached Dean's ears. He turned around, coming face to face with Leah Gideon, out of the corner of his eye he saw Benny get grabbed by the demons. 'No, the real Leah Gideon wouldn't have found her way into Purgatory' Dean thought. Which meant…. "Whore" Dean said, "Having seen you in a while… ever thought about changing your first name to something a bit less…" Dean shrugged. Benny's arms were twisted behind his back, reducing his struggling.

Dean tried to play it cool and calm… as hunter would… at least one in his right mind. But his eyes betrayed him; they flickered over to Cas' still body, who was yet to move. The Whore of Babylon's eyes followed his; she- it smiled then looked back at him. "You are just here to do us a favor" it said. It glanced at Benny, "Him, I don't need" it added, gesturing uninterested in the vampire's direction. The demon's twisted the vampire's arm painfully, bringing him to his knees. The next instant, it had Dean by the throat. "We are about to have a reunion, full of old friends of yours Dean… You see, the angel is going to fly us all out of Purgatory… He doesn't _want_ to now… _but _with the right initiative, I'm sure he'll be _more_ than happy to help us _out_" it said, tightening its grip. Dean had been taken by surprise by its speed. He gripped its wrist with his hand, a vain effort to break its grip.

Dean did not have a Cypress branch in his small collection of weapons, though it would have come in handy now. So he settled for his axe. He swung his arm up, slicing into the creature's shoulder. It shrieked in pain, letting go for a moment. It was all Dean needed. He swung his axe at the same time as he pivoted on his heels. It dug into the chest of one of the demons. Benny then managed to shove the other one off. Dean rushed to Cas' side, gently rolling him over, a wave relief smashing into him when he saw his friend's eyelids flutter. "Come on Cas, up you go" Dean said, sitting him up. He was about to fling him over his shoulders when the angel's eyes opened. "Dean?" he said weakly, voice hoarse. "Yeah buddy" Dean answered, easily feeling the smile that pulled at the corners of his mouth, and not fighting it. "Come on, we have to go" he added, hauling the slightly smaller man to his feet. Cas wobbled, and slumped into Dean's shoulder. Dean threw Cas's arm over his shoulder, and his own arm under Cas' to help support the angel's weight. "Dean…." Benny called out. Of course Dean's axe hadn't killed any of the creatures off. Benny's weapon wouldn't do anything either. Dean began to walk off, with Cas leaning heavily on him, practically dragging his feet. "Benny, catch!" he said, throwing Ruby's Knife at the vampire. He kept his axe at ready, hoping it would at least _help _fend off the Whore of Babylon, who was busy cradling its arm. It turned to glare at him, with its lips pulled back in anger. "Go, go!" Dean said, dragging Cas along. Benny, swift as ever, had already ganked one demon, the other was keeping its distance.

"Run!" Benny shouted, slamming the knife into the other demon's chest then flinging his only weapon at The Whore of Babylon. It screeched as it became lodged in her chest. Benny then began to run, Dean right behind him, though a bit slower, as he was dragging Cas along. He followed Benny, who led them to the gigantic hill. "I thought you said that'd be impossible!" Dean shouted, grunting as he shifted under Cas' weight. "Difficult, not impossible!" Benny shouted back, reaching the foot of the hill. "It's the quickest way to get far, far away from them… before she calls in more demons" he said. He then began to claw his way up the hill, bending his fingers like claws and digging them into the soft and muddle earth. 'Damn his vampire reflexes' Dean thought. He looked at Cas, how was he going to drag him up? He glanced back up the tall hill. "Dean" Cas said, looking at him with weary eyes, "I can manage" he said, sliding his arm off Dean's shoulder. "Cas… you sure?" Dean asked, keeping a hand on his friend's shoulder, to steady him. Cas nodded and placed his hands on the hill, he began to half walk, half crawl up. Since it was so steep, Dean had to do the same.

Benny, of course, reached the top first. His cloths were soaked, he was covered in damp leaves, and was pretty muddy, but he still claimed the top first. Dean saw him turn around and crouch at the top, leaning over slightly to watch Dean and Cas' progress. "Come On!" the vampire shouted. Dean growled under his breath, they were going as fast as they could… The hill was incredibly muddy, and the damp leaves only added to the slipperiness. Add to all that the steep slope and you had a near impossible climb, at least for regular humans who didn't do this for sport. He glanced over his shoulder every so often to make sure Cas was still behind him. The little angel was making progress, only a foot or so below Dean.

Dean grunted, almost at the top, when he began to slide back down. Benny's hand flashed down, gripped his wrist, and helped him the rest of the way up…only a foot and a half or so. Dean lay on the ground for a while, climbing was exhausting. He rolled onto his stomach and looked over at Cas, who still needed a few yards before he reached the top. "Come on Cas" Dean said, patting the ground impatiently. Cas's arms trembled, but he continued to pull himself up… his shoes sliding in the mud much more than Dean's boots had.

"Dean!" Benny cried, pointing to the foot of the hill. Dean snapped to attention, spotting the Whore of Babylon, its shirt was bloody, but it showed no sign of injury. 'Of course Benny's weapon wouldn't slow it for long… if it ever did at all' Dean thought. It had likely just been waiting for its reinforcements, the five demons than ran after it. The locks of blond hair that bounced off the fair skinned girl to the Whore's side looked familiar. Dean's skin crawled when he recognized the demon. "Cas!" he shouted at his friend to hurry up. That was Lilith! Cas' head snapped back to look in the direction of the six creatures.

Dean lay flat on his stomach, stretching his hand out to Cas, who was just out of range. The angel, digging his fingers and finger nails into the dirt, pulled himself up, arms trembling with effort, and then reached out to grasp Dean's hand. Dean struggled to pull his friend up, but he couldn't support Cas entire weight with one arm. Cas too attempted to pull himself up, clawing at the hill with his free hand.

Castiel was injuried. Not his vessel, his vessel was fine. It was Castiel, the angel inside the vessel, whose every movement felt like an Angel Blade had just sliced through. The Whore of Babylon's Enochian chant couldn't kill an angel, but it could harm them and debilitate them for some time. Castiel was weak, though he could feel his strength slowly returning, not fast enough though. Right now, he was more human than angel, using his vessel's muscles and limbs to their full extent, their full non-angel reinforced strength, to climb up the hill…. And Jimmy wasn't exactly an athlete, nor did he have stamina. His shoes slipped frequently, his finger nails were full of dirt and covered in mud, and he was tired. Benny had already reached the top, as had Dean, but Castiel progress was deteriorating. "Come on Cas" Dean called down to him. Castiel was pretty much crawling up the steep slope now. "Cas!" his friend cried out in alarm. Following his gaze, Castiel looked over his shoulder, to see the Whore, and her company, Lilith, Azazel, Alistair… all weaker when cut off from Hell, like Castiel was weaker when cut off from Heaven. They were still dangerous, however, and Castiel wanted Dean as far away from them as possible.

Castiel gripped Dean's wrist tightly, trying to pull himself up, as climbing obvious wasn't going to do the trick. Dean clenched his teeth as he tried to pull him up, but Castiel's weight was too much for him, and Castiel knew it. He tried to help, using Dean's hand to steady himself and pull himself up, he began climbing again. He lost his footing, his shoe slipping on some damp leaves, and he began to slide down, hand slipping from Dean's. Dean's eyes widened in panic, he reached down further and got a firmer grip on Castiel's hand. Castiel could fell _them _getting closer… the steep hill wouldn't slow them down… there was no way they'd be able to out run them, even if Castiel reached the top at this instant. Dean again tried to pull him up, Castiel half-crawling up. He couldn't let them reach Dean… Castiel slipped once again, "Dean!" he cried, when his hand slipped completely from his friend's grasp and he began to slide down. He tried to claw his way up again, to no avail, he was falling. His eyes locked with Dean's, both pairs were wide and full of fear. Castiel glanced at Benny, who was standing behind Dean, and visibly relaxed. Benny would get Dean out of Purgatory, Benny could keep him safe… all they needed was a distraction… and what would distract the demons more than the angel who they thought could get them out of Purgatory? His arms went slack; his eyes bore into Benny's. 'Get him _out_' he thought.

"Cas, you stupid son-of-a-bitch!" Dean yelled, as Cas began to slide down at a quicker rate, and not fight to stop it. The angel glanced at Dean, as he had been staring over his shoulder at Benny, his eyes calm and unwavering. Dean cursed again, under his breath, before diving after Cas, nearly sliding down as well. Benny caught his legs before he could start sliding down, but it didn't matter. Dean's long arm reached for Cas, gripping the angel's wrist with as much force as he could muster. He wasn't letting go, if Cas was falling, then he was dragging Dean with him.

Dean could feel Benny tugging at his ankle, hauling them up, though he was struggling with the weight of two full grown men. Dean had never been more glad for vampire's inhuman strength. Once Dean was clear, Benny got down on his stomach, reached down, grabbed Cas' other wrist, and helped his Dean him up. "What the hell was that?!" Dean growled, furious with Cas, now that the angel was out of harm's way. Cas didn't answer, he just lay on the ground for a moment, seemingly catching his breath. Dean pulling him up into a sitting position, crouching down to get at eye level and be able to glare straight into Cas' blue eyes. Cas was breathing hard, but seemed unfazed by Dean's scowl. He reached up, putting two fingers on Dean's forehead, and gripping Benny's forearm with the other. Dean was about to ask Cas what he was doing, when he heard the flutter of wings and was taken away from the hill top.

**(I's not happy with chapter... at all. I'm sorry if it feels rushed, or like two chapters crammed into one... I had no idea how to get my...well... idea [for this chapter] across. BTW, totally inspired by What's up Tiger Mommy, the last flashback.)**


	8. Opening The Door

***************************Disclaimer* I do not own Supernatural (nor do I claim to), I just love it and happen to get alot of ideas for stories in my head.**

**Chapter Seven**

Dean blinked, glancing around; they were obviously not on top of the hill anymore. He turned to look back at Cas just in time to see his sky blue eyes roll into his head. The angel slumped forward and Dean's hands flew up to catch him. "Cas?" Dean said softly. Cas was limp in his arms, clearly unconscious. Dean had only seen him completely unconscious once before, when Cas had pulled him and Sam into the past. Dean turned Cas around and lay him gently on the ground, on his back. Dean noticed Benny out of the corner of his eye; the vampire was observing Cas with a great deal of interest. When he realized Dean was looking at him, the vampire blinked and looked away. Dean dismissed it, glancing back at Cas. The little angel still had blood at the corner of his mouth, but there was no other sign of injury. Dean bristled when he thought of what they could have done to him.

After a moment, Benny stepped over and handed Dean Ruby's Knife. Dean took it without a word and hid it in his jacket. He waited to see what the vampire would say about Cas… it wasn't like he was just going to brush off the fact that, in a flutter of wings [or at least the sound of it] Cas had transported them miles away. "So?" Dean said after a while of silence, he still crouched beside Cas. "So…" Benny repeated, as if waiting for Dean to say it. Dean rolled his eyes, "You already know Cas isn't human…" Dean began. One didn't just smite a Hellhound with a blast of blinding light and still get called 'human.' Benny nodded, "Whatever he is, he got us out alive, and that's what matters" he said. The vampire glanced back at Cas. Dean's eyes shifted from the vampire, to his unconscious friend, and back. He nodded; halfway believing Benny would really let it go.

They didn't move much after that; Benny kept watch, just in case something else decided to attack. Dean was never far from Cas, waiting for him to wake up. A part of him wanted to shake Cas, order him to wake up, and then yell at him for the idiotic stunt he'd pulled back at the hill. The other part of him knew the angel needed to rest and recover from whatever the Whore of Babylon had done to him. He paid Benny very little heed, barely registering that the vampire was gone, off inspecting the surrounding area, making sure nothing had noticed they were there.

Castiel groaned, opening his eyes. He quickly shut them, and then opened them again, blinking quickly. "Cas? Cas!" Dean said, rushing to his side. Castiel turned his gaze on Dean, he saw his face go from intense and concern, to intensely furious, but couldn't register what it meant. He felt very groggy, the entire time he'd been out, he'd been healing the damage done by the Whore of Babylon, he felted wiped out and it was affecting his mind. Being an angel, and mostly healed, the fatigue quickly subsided. Dean hauled him, somewhat roughly, into an upright sitting position. Castiel supposed it was because of the dangerous situation Castiel had put him in. If it hadn't been for him, Dean wouldn't have had to face the Whore of Babylon. Castiel looked a bit like a puppy who knew he had done something wrong, had been caught, and would now be scolded. He really hadn't meant to put Dean in trouble.

"What the hell, Cas?!" Dean said, ready to chew him out. "Why the hell would you do that?" he shouted, watching Cas flinch. "I'm sorry, Dean" Cas said, eyes big and sorrowful. Dean fumed, breathing out loudly through his nose. He comically resembled a cartoon bull, with smoke coming out of its nostrils when mad. He stared at Cas with a hard, almost harsh, look. "I didn't know… I didn't think the Whore of Babylon would be… I didn't mean to put you on the Whore of Babylon's trail, Dean" Cas said, eyes now downcast. Dean's glower melted away, his eyes now concern, perhaps even a bit frightened. He didn't know what affected him more, how much Cas had just struggled to put his thoughts together, or that Cas thought he was mad because he'd had to come save him, not realizing he was furious because he'd almost lost him.

"Cas it's, it's okay" Dean said, unsure of what else to say. He still had trouble with chick-flick moments. He placed his hand on Cas's shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Dean?" he heard Benny call, Cas turned his head to stare in the direction of Benny's shout. Dean rolled his eyes, his face showing his irritation. "What?!" he shouted back. Cas opened his mouth before Benny could answer. "He found the Gates of Purgatory" the angel said, slowly and calmly.

Benny came jogging back; his face had a look of astonishment, his eyes wide. He opened his mouth to speak, but Dean beat him to it. "Are you sure?" he asked, his voice rushed. Benny stopped short, looking from Dean to Cas. "…" he said, before Dean interrupted again with "You found the door… the Gates of Purgatory?" unable to wait for Benny to spit it out. Benny looked confused for a moment, his gaze again switching from Cas to Dean, then back. He nodded, "Yeah, I can feel them. I doubt there is a creature in Purgatory who couldn't feel it if they got close enough. Their presence is very… strong… because" he said. "Because there is only one" Cas finished, a very wise tone to his voice and a very deep look in his eyes. He almost looked like the old Cas… 'The real Cas' Dean thought, as he recited the law that all of the angels of the Lord knew. Cas stared, unseeing, at the surrounding forest. "This is a jail, it was always meant to be a prison from which there was no escape, so there is only one door. The door was opened on the creation of this realm, and then closed once all the Leviathans were in. It has only been opened three times after that…. by Howard Phillips Lovecraft, myself, and you and Bobby" he said.

Benny stared at Cas as he spoke of the door, for some reason, it made Dean feel a bit uncomfortable. He shifted his weight a bit, so he was mostly blocking Benny's view of Cas. The movement snapped Benny out of his daze; he placed his focused gaze back on Dean. "Right, and all the souls of Purgatory went out and came back in through that door" he added. "Okay then" Dean said, straightening from his crouch but not taking a single step away from Cas. He pivoted on his heel so he was facing Benny. "What are we waiting for?" he asked. Benny blinked and raised an eyebrow. "We'll have to be fast…. Everyone wants to get out of Purgatory… and everyone will _kill _to be the one to make it out. If they find out we're getting out and reach us before we cross, then there won't be enough strips of flesh to identify us afterwards" he said. Dean cursed under his breath. The monsters knew they wanted to get out, but were too far gone to figure out how to accomplish that… their solution to everything was to tear and managle. "Okay then, let's get going" he said. He glanced back at Cas, who had drawn his knees up to his chest and had his arms wrapped around them, chin on the tops on his knees, eyes downcast. Dean's eyes softened, 'I'm getting you out of here Cas' he said, steel resolve in his voice. It was a promise, and no amount, or species of monster that Purgatory housed would stop him.

The Gates of Purgatory turned out to be some sort of cliff. It was a tall, huge, rectangular, stone wall. It was at the top of an incline, at the edge of a very large circular clearing. The edges that defined the borders of the clearing were full of trees. In fact the entire area around the clearing was thick with trees. The cliff, or wall, or whatever, didn't even look out of place. It was dirty, crooked, and jagged. It didn't have a single crack, but did look like large slates had been cut out, not so cleanly. Dean tilted his head back to look at the top of the cliff-wall. "So, where do we do this?" he asked. Benny was busy taking out the supplies he had carefully hidden in his clothing, Cas had walked right up to the wall staring at it, looking it up and down, inspecting it. Benny glanced up, "On the wall. Similar to the spell to open the door on the other side, we draw on the sigils, we chant the words, it opens" he said. His eyes slide from Dean's face to the back of Cas's head. Cas stretched out his right arm and placed his palm on the stone. A shudder pasted through him. Benny narrowed his eyes, but quickly shifted his gaze back to Dean, who hardly noticed, as he was too busy making sure Benny hadn't lost any of the ingredients.

Benny drew up all the sigils, and the pattern in which they had to appear, on the ground with a stick. Dean walked around the drawing, "How big?" he asked. Benny shrugged, "The bigger the better I supposed, we have plenty of blood" he said. Dean nodded and set to work, he took the right side, and Benny took the left. Cas simply stood in the background, perfectly still, seemingly lost in the jumble of his thoughts. 'Almost there Cas' Dean thought, as he hurried to finish his half of the sigils 'Just hold on.'

It was nearing dusk when they finally finished drawing the sigils… when they used up all the blood. It hadn't taken them all that long really, between waiting for Cas to recover, and following Benny and Cas' 'feeling' of the place it had already been way past afternoon when they reached the wall. Benny was crouched in front of the wall, in the middle, starting a fire. This was what they had needed the bark from that tree Benny had talked about, the one God used to get the Leviathans into Purgatory without them realizing it was their prison. The other herbs were also thrown into the fire. It made Dean feel like a witch. He wasn't sure if he was glad for the fire's light and warmth when the sun finally set, or if he unenthusiastic because it was like a beckon for the creatures of Purgatory, the silvery moon and its white-ish glow provided enough light without _this _neon sign. This was a place of darkness; a fire pretty much screamed 'I'm here! Come attack me!'

The fire cast eerie shadows on the stone wall, stretched out versions of Dean, Benny, and Cas. Dean stared into the fire. "How do we do this… smudge on the ashes… kill the fire and finger paint them onto the wall?" he asked. Benny stared into the fire even more intently than Dean. He thought for a while, before saying, "We can… smudge them…. with a stick" he said.

Castiel crouched by the fire, the light from the flames played with the shadows across his face. He had his knees draw up to his chest and his arms around them. He stared into the flames as Dean and Benny worked, lost in his mind, not paying attention to his surroundings at all but still getting information that leaked through from his enhanced angel senses anyways. He shivered, not from the cold, angels didn't feel cold, but from the void that was coming. It was approaching fast, it was large, and it was as empty and dark as a black hole. His mind flint away from the knowledge, like a restless hummingbird, and he instead tried to focus on Dean, on the strong and pure light shining through him, his human soul. He closed his eyes; he could feel the void start to press on him. He didn't like it. He shrunk into himself a bit more. 'Have to warn Dean' he thought, the thought bouncing around inside his head for a moment, before he was able to piece enough of himself together to accomplish the feat.

Castiel turned his head toward the other side of the clearing, straight ahead from the stone wall, into the barrier of trees. "They're coming" he said, his voice void of any emotion. Dean walked around him and stuck his stick in the edges of the fire, trying to pick up all the precious ash. "Who's coming" he asked, not really paying attention to Castiel, responding more or less automatically with the information that had been given. He walked back to the wall, no doubt thinking this was just another one of Castiel's ramblings. "All of them" Castiel said, straightened up out of his crouch slowly. He didn't push himself up with his hands… just slowly unfolded until he stood straight. He stared into the line of trees, he could see them all, darkness was not a problem for an angel.

Castiel could see Lilith, and Alastair, and Azazel, and the Whore of Babylon… and Eve followed by a small army of Hellhounds… and a larger horde of demons and an even larger throng of monsters. Werewolves, vampires, ghouls, wendigos, Vetalas… all monsters of Purgatory surrounded the stone wall in a crescent moon shape, crouching in the shadows, edging closer and closer, trembling with anticipation. The five most powerful creatures of Purgatory [excluding Leviathans] seemed to have control over the other monsters, for now. "There're here" Castiel said, eyes scanning the surroundings.

"Who's here, Cas?" Dean asked, glanced at him as he shoved his stick back in the flames. Cas didn't glance at him. After a moment Dean followed his stare, jumping slightly at the hundreds of pairs of glowing eyes that stared right back. "Uh, Benny… are we almost done?" Dean asked, taking a step back and grabbing his axe. Benny was busy smudging the last of his half of the ashes onto the wall. "Benny!" Dean shouted, capturing the vampire's attention. The vampire turned to glare at him, his fangs sliding out slightly in annoyance. His eyes stared straight ahead, his lips went slack, covering his teeth, the fangs having slide back into his gums. A look of dread quickly filled his face, as if he couldn't believe how many had come.

"Benny? Hey! Benny, snap out of it!" Dean shouted. He gripped the vampire's shoulder, "Get us out of here, you're the only one who knows the spell… or whatever" he said. Benny didn't say anything, but he nodded, looking determined as he stepped back to examine his and Dean's work. He had Dean scrambled to get the finishing touches. Cas stared at the leaders of the mob. He clearly saw when Even and Lilith gave the signal. He clearly saw all the monsters, demons, and Hellhounds spring out of their crouch, charging forward, unsure of what they were going to do, unsure of what made them _have _to do this, what forced them to be here. In the distance, he heard the loud and indignant roar of a ferocious creature, tugging on a white hot collar, straining its neck and swinging its tail, trying to tear away from the stone that anchored it to this place, trying to get to the door. It could feel the key in the lock, now all someone had to do was twist it, and open the gates. It roared again, its cries echoing throughout Purgatory. The monstrous serpent wanted out, just like everyone else, and it was willing to do anything to walk out the door, just like every other monster here. Out of the corner of his eye, Castiel saw Dean tighten his grip on his axe, ready and willing to face the coming mass of claws, fangs, and glowing eyes. It was going to end bloody for all.

**(Chapters might be put up a bit slower now... it seems like its national essay[s] week or something, plus our play is around two weeks so... enjoy this chapter for now! =)**


	9. Getting Out

**Disclaimer* I do not own Supernatural (nor do I claim to), I just love it and happen to get alot of ideas for stories in my head.**

**[Gosh, I am _so sorry _this took so long! I was wiped out after tech week, literally crashing on my bed and falling asleep on Friday, not even doing any homework... the day off the actual play was the same... except I was in costume for 12 hours, and had 4 preformances... Lol.. I've been using this week to catch up on homework... and now I have [caught up] so... I give you chapter 8! Hope you guys like it]**

**Chapter Eight**

"Dean!" Castiel's powerful voice rang out over the noise. His blue eyes blazed with anger, and, for the moment, clarity, as the duo struggled to hold back the swarm of vile creatures that inhabited Purgatory. Benny, meanwhile, put the finishing touches on the wall, the Gates of Purgatory, a large circle with symbols inside. The final piece of the lock, now all they had to do was turn it. Benny glanced around, seeing Dean and Castiel fighting the advancing mob. "Close your eyes!" Castiel commanded, and his voice held so much power and certainty that Benny quickly closed his eyes and threw his arm over them for good measure. He still saw a blaze of light from beneath his eye-lids, and heard the pained shrieks of the surrounding army. Daring to open his eyes, he lowered his army to see that a good chuck of the first line lay dead, eyes burnt out of their sockets, bodies still smoking slightly. He curled his lip in disgust.

"Come on, let's go! The door won't remain open for long!" Benny shouted, sounding irritated and more than a bit frightened. He didn't intend for the fear to leak into his voice, but it did so all the same. Dean ignored him, worrying over Castiel, who seemed a bit wiped out after the whole, flashing-lights, burning-eyes-out-of-sockets bit he'd just pulled. Benny glared at them, his chest heaving. It took him a while to realize that was because he was panting, close to hyperventilating, which was embarrassing. He'd never faced such odds, so many monsters. He was starting to fear they wouldn't make it out, and he did not want to be torn to pieces.

"Come. ON!" Benny snarled, his fangs sliding out just a tiny bit. Dean flashed him a hate filled look, and for a second Benny was taken back. It seemed a bit uncalled for. Dean seemed to realize he wasn't just glaring at Benny, but decapitating him with his eyes, and softened his harsh look. He was just as frightened as Benny, it was nothing personal. Benny swallowed, and Dean looked around for Castiel. Benny refrained from shouting at Dean again, though the hunter didn't really seem to get the message, they had to go, _now._ "Cas!" Dean shouted, as Castiel smacked a Wendigo away with his wing. Benny had to admit, that was an impressive move. The angel glanced around, "Shield your eyes!" he cried, before letting forth another blast of light. Benny quickly hid his eyes in the crook of his arm, shutting his eyes tight as the cries of monsters wasting away filled his ears.

"Cas? Cas!" Dean cried in panic. Benny opened his eyes and slowly lowered his arm, he sincerely hoped the angel wasn't unconscious, he'd burned a huge hole in Purgatory' army, and it was best if they take advantage of it. He glanced around, finding Dean, who wasn't crouched beside an unconscious angel, but pivoting around wildly. "Cas? Cas!" Dean's desperate voice held the same amount of fear as his wide eyes, which scanned the empty clearing. The angel was nowhere to be seen, but they weren't alone. The trees clustered around the edge of the clearing held hundreds of glowing, ravenous eyes. Benny was certain that they noticed the angel's absence as much as the hunter. "Dean…" he began. Dean whirled around to glare at him, axe handle held in a grip so tight that it turned Dean's knuckles white. He dared Benny to say it, to say 'we have to get out of here' to assume Dean would move an inch toward the door without the angel at his side. Benny swallowed again, before saying "We have to find the angel…now." Dean took a deep breath and nodded, his grip on the axe handle loosening slightly.

Castiel glanced about him, folding his wings to his back. In the back of his head, clawing at its corner was an enraged, desperate, and frightened voice that begged Castiel to return. Dean called Castiel back, both out loud and in his mind. Castiel knew he should be returning, he knew Dean was in trouble, but another voice also called to him, it roared and bellowed, then quieted when it realized he was near. So Castiel, arms dangling limply at his sides, began to walk forward. He didn't stop walking until he came across a small clearing. Large trees, bigger than Redwoods, circled the area; in the middle lay a large grey stone, on which sat a tall, lean man dressed in a grey suit, light blue shirt, and blue tie. Dick Roman looked every bit as composed as he had the last time they'd met, the only think that betrayed him was his torn suit, his ruffled hair, his slightly disheveled appearance. He glanced up, and, noticing Castiel standing at the edge of his clearing, smiling. His mouth was full of large, sharp fangs, his eyes twinkled a bit, as if he had a juicy secret, and wasn't planning on telling anyone. "Castiel" he said, shifting his position to get a bit more comfortable, or as if trying to find a comfortable way to sit on a hard, cold stone. "I was wondering when you'd show."

Castiel glared at the Leviathan, his feathers ruffling, wings tensing. "Oh, please" Dick waved away Castiel's attempt at fierceness "That just makes you look like an irritated puppy, which actually fits you nicely, considering the non-existence amount of damage you could inflict in me if you actually tried anything" he said. Castiel narrowed his eyes, but said nothing. "And I really don't want you harm you, my little ride into paradise" he added, smiling once again to reveal fangs. Castiel stiffened, but Dick had ceased to pay him any attention. He glanced at the trees surrounding them, "The gates haven't been opened yet" he stated, "I would have felt it." Castiel still said nothing, he only blinked. There was shouting in his head, very commanding,nhe forced it down, as if was making it harder to understand Dick. Either Dick wasn't expecting an answer, or didn't care either way, for he continued. "But you have everything right" he said "You have the door, and you have the key, you even have the key in the lock. All you have to do…is turn it" he said, finally looking at Castiel. "There are still Leviathans on earth." "They haven't been able to get them all" he added unnecessarily. "And the Leviathans, need their leader" he said. "And yet, you are stuck in here" Castiel said, regarding Dick's chains. "Ah, yes… unfortunate" he said, glancing down at the shackles on his wrists "but not permanent" he said, his eye flashing up to meet Castiel's. Castiel felt like taking a step back.

"How do you think I got out before?" Dick asked, getting a grip on the color. It began to glow red. "This" he said, giving the collar a tug "Is not permanent" he finished, tightening his grip on the collar until Castiel thought it would shatter. It didn't, it just glowed brighter, the red turning to white with the increased heat. It sizzled against Dick's skin, until the Leviathan leader hissed and dropped his hold. It stopped glowing immediately after. "It seems very permanent to me" Castiel said, still standing in his same position. Dick chuckled, "Yes, it does… _seem_" he said. He stood up, his chains rattling as metal stroked metal. "I want out, Castiel" he said, folding his arms behind his back. He cocked his head to the side slightly, as if listen to something, then smiled, though this time he showed no teeth. "I do not care for the other, monsters… in Purgatory. I understand that Eve thinks herself Queen, as does Lilith. But demons are nothing more than mutations, twisted versions of the humans they once were. Let them keep Purgatory, if they wish, but earth is mine" he said.

Castiel blinked, "You knew they would come after us" he said after a while, ignoring the loud calls, someone was shouting his name. Dick nodded, not even attempting to hide it. "Yes well… the Queen of monsters has a bone to pick with Crowley, and Lilith wants to see her daddy, the tantrum throwing angel, rule earth" he said. "They're very persistent, and keen on getting through the door, so much that they've decided to work together. Lilith has been hearing things from recently killed demons, such as how Crowely helped put Lucifer back in the pit, how he began King of Hell, and how he remodeled Hell. She's not pleased" he said, walking to the edge of his chain. He began to circle back, "Why are you telling _me_ this?" Castiel asked. "Why are you listening to it?" Dick countered, before he stopped walking once more. "Earth is _mine_" he said, voice low. "I don't want demons, or Eve's little creations, there any more than you do" he said. "Get me out of here" he said, "I'll make sure they don't follow." Castiel was already shaking his head, "You will destroy the world" he said, forcing the voice completely out of his mind. "And I'll even throw in Hell as a bonus" Dick said, "But I can't touch Heaven" he added. "I cannot get you out" Castiel said, as if Dick were stupid. Dick smiled, "You've opened the door twice, sucking out and spitting us back in. You've gone through yourself. You could carry me out if you wanted, it would open for you" Dick said "I could tell you how." Castiel shook his head, with more conviction "No" he said. Dick stopped moving and stared at Castiel. Before he had a change to blink, the Leviathan was on him, a hand crushing his jaw and throat, mouth open and fangs bared right in Castiel's face, Dick's strength being greater than Castiel's he easily forced the angel to the ground. His forked tongue slid out, "Who said I needed your permission?" he snarled, though he sounded fierce, the Leviathan leader never lost his composure, unlike his kin, which often seemed animalistic. "Did I ask it when I took control of your vessel?" he asked, "Or when I exploded it?"

Castie struggled, his enormous and power wings unfurling and flapping madly, furiously, and uselessly. They beat against the ground creating powerful gusts of wind that Dick seemed oblivious to. "My only regret" Dick said, his free hand digging into the earth, fingers hooked like claws "Is that I won't get to see who had the pleasure of _ripping _Dean Winchester to _shreds_" Dick hissed. Castiel tensed at the words, "Dean" he murmured, remembering that he'd left Dean alone in a horde of Purgatory souls. He could hear the voice clearly now, as Dick's faded into background noise. 'Cas?! Cas! Get. Your. Feathery. Ass. Down. Here!' Dean's voice sounded equally furious and concerned. He was calling Castiel, and Castiel knew he had to answer. He stretched out his wings, spreading the blindingly-white feathers of light, and began to flap them with only one destination in mind: Dean. Dick realized to late what Castiel was doing. His face contorted with rage and he roared, his true voice, loud, animalistic, and hungry, echoed through the trees as Castiel flew away.

"Cas! Where the Hell have you been?!" Dean growled, not the least bit startled when Castiel appeared, nearly bumping into the wall- the Gates of Purgatory. Castiel's ears were filled with the sound of battle, or flesh being sliced open. He could see Benny standing a little ways ahead, hacking at the advancing line. He could see Dean glaring at him, though his eyes were full of concern as well. None of that was as real, however, as the trembling of the ground; something that neither Dean nor Benny seemed to feel. None of it seemed as close as the shrieks of fury that tore out of the serpent's throat, its forked tongue slicing through the air. The ground rocked and shook as the Leviathan heaved with all its might against the great stone that held it in place. It snarled in rage, its powerful tail striking nearby trees, hitting some with enough force to break them in two, the half toppling over and crashing to the ground with a thud that echoed through the large prison. The collar would be white-hot now, and the pain would likely go unnoticed by the Leviathan as it tossed its huge neck, its large claws sinking into the ground, creating large wounds in the soil.

Castiel blinked, not doubting for a second that the Leviathan would manage to free itself. Dick would come for him, he would most likely swallow Dean whole, and perhaps eat Benny as well, out of pure rage. He couldn't let that happen. "Cas, Cas, come on!" Dean snapped him out of his thoughts, shaking him roughly by the shoulder. Now was not a time to be gentle. "Benny, come on!" Dean said. "Do the… spell as soon as you see an opening!" he said. Benny nodded, backing up toward the stone wall, not that there would be an opening, unless they killed all of the souls coming toward them, then destroyed Lilith, Eve, and Alistair as well. "We're getting out of here" Dean breath shakily, making the it sound as if he were laughing. Perhaps he was. He was finally going to leave this place behind, he should be happy, Castiel decided.

Castiel turned to look at the small army; they were surrounded, trapped between the wall-the door- and the fangs and claws of Purgatory's inhabitants. They wouldn't be able to open the door without half of the army following after them.

Benny's wild eyes ran over their attackers….they were so many… He glanced at the angel, then at Dean. He had believed the angel would be his way out. He remembered very well, he remembered…he hadn't been conscious… not fully. He'd just been a power source for the angel, but he did remember when the door had split open with a thunderous sound. He remembered the fierce winds, tugging him off his feet, sending him flying, spinning, hurtling toward the door, through it, and into the angel. He also remembered being spit out, feeling very weak after being used as the angel's juice, he remembered being sucked out and thrown back in Purgatory, being too feeble to stand for some time. He'd thought he could get out through the angel, that the angel could pull him out again…. But now, now he understood that would never happen. The angel, Castiel, was unstable. If he tried to hitch a ride with him, he might enough up sitting by the Leviathan leader, being swallowed whole. His gaze shifted, resting on Dean. The portal, the door, would open for a human, of this Benny was certain. This was meant as a jail for monsters, and only monsters. Purgatory would want to spit the hunter out like food gone bad. All Benny had to do was make sure he was able to tag along. The angel, if he had been in his right mind, could have opened the door. The angel belonged here as much as the human did, perhaps less, who knew who God gave preference to? But the angel _wasn't _in its right mind… Benny glanced at Dean again. He _really_ hoped this worked.

Dean swung at the nearest monster, a ghoul, slicing off its head. A werewolf leaped at him, its jaws locking on the handle of his axe. Dean tugged, but was unable to free his weapon. He yanked on it, bringing the werewolf close to his face, and punched it, as hard as he could. It let go and Dean quickly swung his axe, the werewolf's head rolling. They, Cas and himself, were no more than fifteen feet away from the wall. Dean couldn't help but admit to himself that he had no idea how they were going to get out, at least not without unleashing this army on the world. It would be worse than when Jake had opened the Devil's Gate, a door to Hell [and out of it]. He glanced at the horde of monsters once more, recognizing Eve, Lilith, Alastair, and the Whore of Babylon at the back of the group. Yes, it would be much worse… He glanced at Cas, the [dirty] trench coated angel was eyeing their opponents, prepared to fight alongside Dean. He glanced over his shoulder, were Benny half-way crouched, one hand pressed lightly onto the stone, waiting for an opening, which never came. If they didn't open the door soon, they would be shred to pieces, and Dean would be responsible for not only Cas' death, but Benny's as well.

Dean was shoved to the ground, overpowered by two werewolves. He grunted, keeping one at bay with his axe, it pressed against its throat, but it didn't care or take notice, only pushed harder against it. "Dean!" Cas shouted. The next instant one of the werewolves was gone. Dean could handle one; he kicked it in the stomach, slammed the axe in its face, then sliced on its head. "Hey, thanks Ca-" Dean began, getting to his feet, when Cas grabbed him roughly by the shoulder, standing him up, and shoving him behind him. Cas faced the monsters, who now advanced in unison. From over Cas' shoulder, as he was taller than the angel, Dean noticed Lilith smirk. They were going to hit them with all they had, Dean realized. They were trapped, the door only yards away. They planned on finishing them, right now, and perhaps torturing Benny into opening the door for them. Or using Cas, everyone seemed to think Cas could get the door open…. Dean glaced around, taking in all the pairs of glowing eyes. He knew very well they couldn't fight this, and win.

Cas raised his arm and pulled it back, pressing it to Dean's side, as if holding him back, or warning anything against attacking _his_ human. "Dean, go" Cas said, nearly to softly for Dean to hear. As it was, he thought he'd heard incorrectly. "What?" Dean asked, axe in hand, and held at ready. "Go!" Cas shouted, giving Dean a hard shove in the wall's direction, with enough force that Dean slammed into Benny, who quickly pushed him off. Cas stared at the pair, his eyes resting on Benny, and he nodded. "Cas…" Dean said, voice barely above a whisper. "Oh, and I forgot to tell you… how could I seeing as it is such short notice… there's one last ingredient" Benny said, speaking very quickly, so quickly Dean hardly understood a word. "Wha-?" Dean began, before his hand was in Benny's grasp, palm up. The vampire sliced into the skin, causing Dean to flinch and [attempt] to jerk his hand away. "Your blood… or well, human blood" Benny explained. Dean narrowed his eyes as the vampire began to spread the blood in the circle in the middle of the wall. He glanced back at Cas, who was giving him the smallest of smiles, if you only looked at his mouth, though it exploded into a full and warm smile in his eyes. 'Shield your eyes' he saw the angel mouth, unsure if he'd imagined it or not. Cas whirled around the next second, and Dean barely had time to bury his face in his arm before Cas let out a burst of light from his palms, which consumed everything.

Cas must have said it out loud, for when Dean lifted his arm, he saw Benny also had his face tucked away in the safety between his upper arm and forearm. Dean glanced back toward Cas quickly, to find the angel on one knee, a hand on his thigh, wiped out. "Cas, Come On!" Dean shouted, as he heard Benny begin to chant, the words soon faded away, as Dean held no interest in them. The angel slowly stood up, glancing over his shoulder to look at Dean with sad eyes. Dean was shaking his head unable to understand what was happening; Cas could zap himself half-way around the world in a second, fifteen feet should be nothing to him! He looked over Cas' shoulder to see Lilith stand up and turn around, Eve and Alastair following. Apparently they learned quickly, and had shielded their eyes as well… A few hell hounds, werewolves, and demons had done the same, though most of their army lay unmoving on the ground. 'That must be why she's screaming' Dean thought absentminded, as he saw Eve's face contort with rage, eyes narrowed, mouth hanging open and the veins in her throat popping out, though he couldn't hear what she said, if she said anything at all, she might have just been screaming mindlessly.

Dean felt a hand gripped his arm tightly, too tightly; he turned around to look at Benny. He hardly noticed that wind was smacking his face and causing his clothes, specifically his jacket, to flap wildly. He did notice, however, that the wall was beginning to break. Large cracks appeared, and spread, climbing their way up, or down the large slate of stone, the cracks spider-webbed into smaller fissures which began to chip away. The door was opening… Dean looked from the wall, to Benny, and finally to Cas, who was still looking at him with sad, blue eyes. He said something, but Dean could hear, though Cas must have not known that, for he didn't repeat himself. He only turned around and grabbed the first monster, which happened to be a demon, that he could get his hands on. He placed his hand on its forehead, buring away its essence.

Benny, finished with the spell and tightened his grip on Dean. 'No, no, no, no, nononono…' Dean thought. He began to feel a slightly tug, a pull at his torso, his arms, his shoulders. It got stronger, though it still took Dean a while to realize it wasn't the wind's doing, though it was slamming into him with the weight of a storm behind it. Everything was happening in slow motion.

Dean was sliding, the soles of his shoes scrapping against the ground as the wind- no, the tugging, hauled him closer to the stone wall, or rather, toward the gaping hole in the stone wall. Dean glanced back at Cas, he tried to shout at him, maybe he did, for Cas turned around, a werewolf in his grasp. He smiled, ever so slightly, and said something, or perhaps Cas was trying to be funny, and was really mouthing everything. Cas had a lousy sense of humor, Dean decided. Didn't he see this was no funny?

He could barely feel the ground, he was getting picked up, he was not wanted here and was going to be spit out. Dean resisted, he resisted with everything he had, eyes on Cas. The angel burned away another demon and, sensing a danger, whirling around in time to get slammed in the chest by a large hell hound. "CAS!" Dean shouted, finally finding his voice, or his hearing. Everything sped up, the last thing he saw, was Cas hitting the hard ground, while demons surrounded him, victorious. Then he saw nothing else, only darkness, as he was hurtled through the door, flying and cartwheeling through the space between Purgatory and Earth. He knew, he now knew what Cas had said, that finale time, before Dean was pulled away. "Your brother needs you… more than you need me.."

"What about Cas? Was he there?" Sam asked, still incredulous to the fact that Dean was back… from Purgatory.

Dean opened his mouth to speak, though nothing came out, so he took a breath instead. "Yeah Cas… didn't make it…"

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**[I wasn't so sure if I should continue the story or not, as episode 7 revealed its own version of this... But I couldn't do that to you guys! Sorry that I'm a bit rusty after 2 weeks of.. well, none-writing]**


	10. Epilogue

*******************************Disclaimer* I do not own Supernatural (nor do I claim to), I just love it and happen to get alot of ideas for stories in my head.**

******************************[Once I started to write... I couldn't stop... I might just delete this... I don't know... ]**

**Chapter Nine: Epilogue**

Curled up in the mud, unaware of the temperature, or the time, lay a man in a filthy trench coat, with matted hair, and a dirty face. He didn't move, he didn't want to, nor saw the need to. Everything was gone, it was all gone, everything… except the memories, though they too slowly faded away… as he lost himself in the darkness.

He had remembered everything. It had all come in a flash, but not a blur, his mind was to acute, even broken, to miss even one detail. He remembered the battle, he remembered his mind, shattered and scattered. He remembered thinking back to the time when he could call himself an Angel of the Lord. He remembered everything he had done. Sam's mind had broken because of him. Leviathans had nearly taken over the world because of him. He remembered his deal with the King of Hell, and destroying his older brother, Raphael, leaving Heaven without a single arch-angel. He remembered how it felt when the last of his garrison were destroyed by the Leviathans, being woken up by the tablet, the Word of God. He remembered his first death, his quest to find God, and becoming mortal and nearly human. His second death, his return, the civil war…

He remembered the race to save earth, the multiple races to save earth, from Lucifer, from Raphael, from the Leviathans. He remembered he had friends, and just how important earth was to those friends. He remembered one tossing himself into a cage for it, and no one objecting, for love of earth. He remembered how all these thoughts flint about his head, glancing back and saying "None can be allowed to escape". The earth was too valuable, to important, he couldn't make the same mistakes, he couldn't put it in danger again, nor could he allow it to be put in danger.

He remembered the struggling, the door pulling, trying to kick out what didn't belong, though the human didn't want to leave. Castiel remembered, that no matter how important the world might be, his human mattered more. So he turned around, and said the only thing that could make him let go "Your brother needs you…"

Castiel remembered being tackled, the pain of the hell hound's claws, demons gripping his arms and shoulders with fingers like claws. He remembered letting forth another burst of light, wings flapping, and being taken away, the screams fading into nothingness. He remembered crashing, exhausted, into the mud, shoulder thudding hard against the ground. He remembered not moving since, with nothing but the darkness for company.

Castiel lay in the mud, the roars of an angry serpent, huge and menacing, searching, vengeful. His wings were folded half-heartedly against his back. He didn't make a move to make himself more comfortable, the fight had left him. He took shallow breathes, eyes unfocused. There was a void, it was dark, it was vile, and it was going to swallow him whole. His only beckon, his only light had left. All that remained was too twisted to even be called souls.

Castiel slowly closed his eyes, his body going limp. He didn't care anymore, his mind began to drift, leaving him, statue still, in the stiffing mud. He began to let go. Only one thing kept him tethered, stubbornly, unwilling to allow him to let go, the man in his memories, the one who lay buried in the center of his mind, the one who had allowed him to keep his tip-of-the-finger grip on his sanity. The one who still beckoned him, he called him home. The only one who could make him sit up, fold and tuck his wings up nicely. The only one who could make him search for a way out, who could make him believe he'd escape his place, simply because he was needed elsewhere. "Dean".

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** THE END**

**[This chapter doesn't bring much closure... but I'm still calling it an epilogue... This story is now finished... please let me know what you think... should this chapter stay in.. or was the last chapter a better ending?]**


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